^^^^/^  2^ 


BV772  .C752  1860  c.2 
Cooke,  Parsons,  1800-1864. 
Divine  law  of  beneficence. 


THE 

DIVINE  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE ; 
ZACCHEUS, 

OR 

THE  SCRIPTURAL  PLAN  OF  BENEVOLENCE 

AND 

THE  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH, 

OR 

SYSTEMATIC  BENEFICENCE. 


THE   DIVINE 


LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE 


BY  REV.   PARSONS   COOKE, 

LYNN,    MASSACHUSETTS. 


Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive. — Acts  20 :  35. 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE 

AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY, 

150    NASSAU-STREET,    NEW   YORE. 


'•>^>^: 


CONTENTS. 


I.  God's  design  in  requiring  benefioence,  ....  5 

II.  The  Old  Testament  law  of  Charity,    .     .     .     .  12 

III.  The  New  Testament  law  of  charity,    .     .     .     .19 

IV.  Law  of  periodical  alms-giving,  1  Cor.  16  :  1,  2,  27 
V.  Reasons  for  compliance  with  the  law,  ....  51 

1.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  grace,  51 

2.  This  system  of  henevolence  tends  to  thrift,     .     .  66 

3.  The  superior  efficiency  of  this  system,      ...  75 

4.  Example  of  the  primitive  church, 78 

Conclusion, 84 


K%7' 


.irTnmOETOH 


LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 


I.   aOD'S  DESIGN  IN  REQUIHINa   BENEF- 
ICENCE. 

God  is  not  dependent  on  us  for  the  support  of  his 
poor.  He  could  have  so  difiused  the  gifts  of  his  prov- 
idence as  to  have  had  no  poor.  Or  he  could  so  have 
fitted  our  frames  to  the  world,  and  the  world  to  them, 
that  all  the  elements  of  human  life  and  comfort  would 
have  been  as  abundant  and  free  as  air  and  water,  so 
that,  like  the  lilies  of  the  field,  the  whole  human 
race  might  meet  every  want  without  toil  or  spinning ; 
and  he  might  have  published  his  gospel  to  every 
creature  without  our  aid.  He  might  have  made  his 
angels,  in  another  sense,  "ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation."  Or  he 
might  have  written  out  the  whole  on  the  face  of  the 
heavens,  and  made  them  in  a  higher  sense  "declare 
the  glory  of  God ;"  and  made  it  in  a  higher  sense  true, 
that  "  their  line  is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth." 
He  does  not  ask  us  to  do  this  work  or  that,  because 
of  any  dependence  on  us.     He  says,  "  Every  beast  of 


6  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills.  If  I  were  hungry  I  would  not  tell  thee,  for 
the  world  is  mine  and  the  fulness  thereof." 

Whatever  necessity  there  is  of  our  agency  he 
has  purposely  laid,  in  the  present  arrangement  of 
things, /or  our  good.  His  benevolence  could  have 
reached  its  object  without  our  concurrence,  if  it  had 
not  made  us  also  its  object,  and  formed  the  design  of 
blessing  us  in  its  course  by  enlisting  us  as  coworkers. 
He  knew  that  it  was  "  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  And  when  he  put  in  motion  the  broad 
mechanism  of  his  mercy,  he  put  upon  it  laws  of  action 
and  reaction,  and  made  the  work  of  heavenly  charity, 
in  all  its  branches,  twice  blessed — blessing  him  that 
gives,  and  him  that  takes.  He  laid  on  us  a  necessity 
of  cultivating  benevolent  affections.  If  we  could  so 
arrange  one's  circumstances,  and  throw  around  him 
Buch  influences,  as  to  keep  him  habitually  and  con- 
stantly giving  to  the  poor — if  vi^e  could  attach  to  him 
dependent  relatives,  or  in  some  other  way  bring  to 
act  upon  him  a  constant  succession  of  calls  that  he 
would  not  resist,  we  should  bring  him  under  the  best 
means  of  cultivating  benevolent  dispositions ;  and 
this  is  what  God  does  with  us,  in  laying  on  us  this 
necessity  of  giving  alms. 

The  fact  that  he  could  have  published  the  gospel 
and  fed  his  poor  without  us,  while  he  could  not,  with- 
out our  concurrence  in  giving,  secure  to  us  the  bless- 
edness which  attaches  to  those  that  give,  indicates 


GOD'S  DESIGN.  7 

that  his  mam  design  in  laying  on  us  the  necessity 
of  giving,  was  to  give  scojoe  to  our  henevolent  affec- 
tions.  For  this  end  he  has  ordained  that  we  shall 
have  the  poor  with  us  always,  in  so  many  forms  of 
human  distress  besetting  our  path,  pleading  at  the 
bar  of  our  conscience  for  the  forth-puttings  of  that 
charity  which  is  the  high  excellence  of  our  nature. 
Yea,  he  has  placed  all  the  interest  which  we  have  in 
evangelizing  the  world  on  such  a  footing,  that  it  will 
advance  no  further  than  his  redeemed  people  pour 
forth  the  means  of  its  advance ;  that  in  that  forth- 
pouring  the  church  may  take  in  those  riches  of  grace 
in  which  the  whole  work  of  redemption  has  its  termi- 
nation. In  other  words,  he  will  not  have  the  evan- 
gelizing of  the  world  advance  faster  than  the  sancti- 
fying of  his  church ;  and  will  sustain  a  reciprocal 
action  between  the  two,  advancing  together. 

Nor  do  we  exaggerate  in  presenting  this  as  the 
main  ground  of  what  necessity  there  is  for  alms- 
giving ;  for  all  the  ends  of  redemption  accomplished 
upon  man  are  comprehended  in  his  renovation  from 
a  state  of  supreme  selfishness  to  that  of  perfect  benev- 
olence ;  and  if  we  should  say  that  all  these  occasions 
for  benevolent  action  were  created  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  furnishing  means  of  exercising  men  to  benev- 
olence, we  should  not  make  the  means  dispropor- 
tionate to  the  end.  The  whole  work  of  Christ,  his 
humiliation,  ministry,  death,  resurrection,  and  medi- 
atorial government,  the  whole  work  of  his  gospel  and 


8  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

his  Spirit,  and  all  the  enforcements  of  his  providence 
look  to  this  end.  We  speak  therefore  not  without 
warrant,  when  we  say  that  all  the  human  suffering 
that  now  pleads  for  human  charity,  and  all  the 
heathen  darkness  that  Imgers  upon  the  nations  for 
human  henevolence  to  enlighten,  is  suffered  to  exist, 
among  other  purposes,  as  a  means  of  developing 
Christian  character. 

But  let  none  imagine  that  the  7iecessity  for  giving 
alms  is  on  that  account  the  less  real.  Divine  wis- 
dom has  appointed  it,  and  made  it  as  unchangeable 
and  imperious  as  if  God  himself  were  bound  by  it. 
The  poor  that  God  has  cast  upon  the  charity  of  men 
will  inevitably  suffer  and  die,  if  men  do  not  feed 
them.  The  people  that  are  perishing  for  lack  of 
vision  will  continue  to  perish,  until  Christian  men 
convey  to  them  the  light  of  life.  God  will  not  lay 
this  work  on  men  for  wise  reasons,  and  then  send 
dovvm  his  angels  to  take  it  out  of  their  hands.  It  is 
by  establishing  such  an  order  of  things,  and  sustain- 
ing it  after  he  has  established  it,  that  he  gives  reality 
and  force  to  the  motives  to  benevolence,  and  to  the 
means  of  drawing  out  and  strengthening  benevolent 
affections.  And  all  his  purposes  to  secure  the  sanc- 
tification  of  his  people  and  the  whole  ends  of  his 
redemption,  will  lead  him  to  an  inflexible  support  of 
this  order  of  things. 

The  sum  of  the  matter  thus  far  is  this,  that  God 
throws  on  us  his  poor,  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  us. 


GOD'S  DESIGN.  9 

He  sends  the  poor,  as  the  representative  of  himself, 
and  of  the  cause  of  his  gospel,  out  to  begging  of  us,  and 
80,  as  it  were,  repeats  the  act  of  his  humiliation,  that 
the  din  of  their  sohcitations  ever  sounding  in  our  ears, 
and  the  sighs  of  a  ruined  world  borne  on  every  breeze, 
may  draw  forth  from  us  those  benevolent  emotions 
and  acts  that  shall  more  and  more  assimilate  us  to 
him  "  who,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  be- 
came poor."  God  takes  the  place  of  man :  in  his  poor 
he  asks,  and  man  bestows ;  that  in  bestowing,  man 
may  accumulate  the  true  riches — more  precious  than 
gold,  which  perishes.  It  is  God  himself  who  asks ; 
and  our  enriching  with  grace  is  the  end  for  which 
he  asks.  He  asks  in  the  only  way  in  which  he  could 
test  and  exercise  our  benevolence.  For  this  purpose 
he  must  needs  ask  as  a  beggar,  and  not -as  a  king. 
Should  he  come  to  us  in  regal  splendor  or  heavenly 
glory,  his  asking  would  be  a  command,  which  we 
should  not  dare  to  disobey  ;  but  our  giving  would  be 
no  act  of  compassion  or  benevolence.  But  now  he 
comes  to  us  in  the  person  of  his  poor — he  comes  as 
the  king  dethroned  and  dependent — banished  from 
heaven,  covered  with  rags,  pining  in  want — he  comes 
uttering  the  tale  of  misery  and  real  suffering,  unless 
we  afford  relief.  And  now  what  we  give  is  given 
by  the  promptings  of  compassion,  and  from  no  sor- 
did motives.  Here  is  both  a  proof  and  exercise  of 
benevolence.  Yet,  to  enforce  his  calls,  he  gives  us 
to  know  that  it  is  He  that  speaks  and  pleads  for 


10  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

compassion,  through  the  open  wounds  and  uttered 
agonies  of  dying  men ;  and  that  every  donation  shall 
be  acknowledged  by  him  in  person  when  he  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  all  the  holy 
angels,  and  say  to  every  one  who  has  exercised  com- 
passion on  his  poor,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  unto  me."  It 
is  not  for  his  good  but  ours,  that  he  thus  beggars 
himself,  and  pleads  as  a  beggar  before  us.  "Our 
goodness  extends  not  to  him."  A  wise  father  often 
draws  out  the  dispositions  of  his  child  by  bestowing 
gifts  and  then  soliciting  a  portion  in  return,  or  getting 
proxies  to  solicit  for  him,  anxious  to  open  the  child's 
heart  to  an  expansive  generosity.  So  Christ  clothes 
himself  in  rags  and  casts  himself  on  our  compassion, 
for  no  purpose  so  much  as  to  give  us  the  reflex  ben- 
efit of  our  own  benevolent  acts. 

And  here  we  wish  it  to  be  specially  remarked,  that 
this  design  appears  prominent  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  duty  of  alms-giving  is  inculcated  in  Scripture. 
Like  the  other  graces,  this  charity  seems  to  be  insist- 
ed on  for  its  own  sake — not  because  there  is  so  much 
suffering  to  be  reheved,  but  because  it  is  good  and 
right  for  us  to  engage  in  its  relief.  God  will  have 
us  give,  not  of  necessity,  but  from  the  spontaneous 
flo  wings  of  the  heart.  "  Every  man  accoi-ding  as  he 
purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give  :  not  grudg- 
ingly, or  of  necessity;  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver,"    Almost  in  every  instance,  you  will  observe, 


GOD'S  DESIGN.  H 

the  duty  is  enforced  from  higher  grounds  than  the 
fact  that  here  is  so  much  suffering  to  be  reheved.  In 
one  case  we  are  exhorted  to  "do  good  and  commu- 
nicate, for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased.'^ 
In  another,  we  are  prompted  to  remember  "the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who,  though  he  was  rich, 
yet  for  our  sakes  became  poor."  In  another,  the 
parity  of  reason  drawn  from  the  other  graces  is  urged  : 
"  Therefore  as  ye  abound  in  every  thing,  in  faith,  and 
utterance,  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  diligence,  and 
in  your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace 
also."  In  another  case  it  is,  "  Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give."  In  another,  "Give  alms  of 
such  things  as  ye  have,  and  all  things  shall  be  clean 
unto  you,"  as  if  charity  were  the  centre  in  which  all 
virtues  meet.  "When  the  poor  Christians  at  Jerusa- 
lem were  in  great  suffering,  and  the  apostles  went 
round  to  solicit  relief  of  Gentile  churches,  their  in- 
spired letters,  sent  here  and  there,  contained  no  rhe- 
torical painting  of  the  distresses  to  be  relieved.  In 
all  that  they  said,  there  appears  next  to  nothing 
adapted  to  draw  upon  the  natural  sympathies.  In 
this  work  they  seem  to  be  laboring  with  a  single  eye 
to  the  sanctification  of  the  Christians  of  whom  they 
asked  relief — as  if  no  relief  was  wanted.  The  fact 
that  God  was  to  be  glorified,  and  the  hearts  of  men 
were  to  be  sanctified,  was  their  mam  argument.  One 
of  the  most  distinct  references  to  the  distress  was 
this :  "  For  the  administration  of  this  service  not  only 


12  LAW  OF  hENEFICENCE. 

supplieth  the  want  of  the  saints,  but  is  abundant 
through,  many  thanksgivings,  to  God.'"'  And  here 
the  revenue  of  praise  to  God  is  the  great  considera- 
tion absorbing  the  other. 

Now,  for  a  right  appreciation  of  the  views  which 
we  are  to  present,  this  fact,  that  man's  sanctification 
for  the  glory  of  God  is  the  main  design  of  the  scrip- 
tural provisions  for  alms-giving,  and  the  main  thing 
aimed  at  in  the  methods  in  which  the  Scriptures 
inculcate  the  duty,  should  be  kept  well  in  view  ;  for 
by  overlooking  it  we  have  lost  a  principle  that  is 
the  key  to  the  understanding  of  this  portion  of  the 
Scriptures. 


II.  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT  LAW  OF  CHARITY 

From  the  foregoing  remarks,  it  may  appear  that  a 
habit  of  charitable  giving  holds  a  higher  place  in  the 
divine  method  for  saving  a  lost  world,  than  most  have 
realized ;  and  the  Christian  who  is  wont  to  ask, 
"Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  may  be 
expected  to  go  to  the  Scriptures,  not  to  find  there  the 
vague  doctrine'  that  he  ought  to  be  occasionally  gen- 
erous, and  generally  charitable,  but  something  that 
will  inform  him  why,  and  how  he  shall  do  it.  And 
he  will  find  that,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in 
the  New,  it  is  made  a  matter  of  distinct  command, 
not  that  we  shall  do  occasional  acts  of  benevolence, 
when  the  appeal  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  or  the 


OLD  TESTAMENT  LAW.  13 

public  sentiment  allows  of  no  evasion,  but  that  we 
shall  enter  upon  a  series  of  periodical  acts  of  self- 
denial  for  the  good  of  others;  and  thus  sustain  a  sys- 
tem and  fixed  habits  of  giving  Whatever  diversity 
there  may  be  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New,  they  agree  in  this,  that  both,  by  express  pre- 
cept, require  habits  of  periodical  appropriations  from 
our  income  to  sustain  religion  and  feed  the  poor. 
And  they  require  that  the  habit  of  doing  this  should 
be  as  much  a  part  of  the  character  of  the  children  of 
God,  as  the  habit  of  prayer.  They  require  a  man 
not  simply  to  hold  himself  in  a  position  to  be  as  it 
were  forced  to  give  now  and  then  for  the  relief  of 
distress,  but  to  enter  on  the  formation  of  an  active 
character  of  beneficence,  by  keeping  in  constant  flow 
a  stream  of  bounties,  lesser  or  larger,  in  proportion 
to  his  means. 

Alms-giving  did  not  originate  with  the  Mosaic 
economy.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  standing 
custom  of  giving  gifts  for  religious  ends,  as  an  act  of 
homage  to  God  and  benevolence  to  man,  long  before 
the  Mosaic  system  was  framed.  Abram  gave  tithes 
to  Melchizedek,  the  priest  of  the  most  high  God. 
The  custom  is  fully  recognized  in  the  book  of  Job. 
Jacob  at  Bethel  vowed  to  give  a  tenth.  And  the 
principle  of  giving  gifts  under  religious  obligation  is 
doubtless  as  ancient  as  religion  itself — coeval  with 
that  of  sacrifices  in  the  family  of  Adam.  And  this 
may  account  for  the  early  and  wide  difiusion  which 


14  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

it  had  among  all  heathen  nations.  And  though 
neither  the  customs  of  the  patriarchal  ages,  nor  the 
institutions  of  Moses  are  binding  on  us,  they  may 
serve  to  illustrate  God's  general  plan  of  dealing  with 
his  people.  He  having  his  chosen  nation  before  him 
in  the  wilderness,  and  about  to  enter  upon  the  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  put  them  under  such 
laws  as  might  bind  them,  as  far  as  laws  could  bind, 
to  a  periodical  series  of  acts  that  would  counterwork 
their  selfishness,  foster  their  sense  of  dependence,  and 
cultivate  their  love  to  God  and  man.  These  laws 
are  found  inwoven  with  the  Mosaic  ritual ;  and  in 
their  general  design  they  concur  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament law  of  charity.  They  required  gifts  to  be 
made  at  stated  times,  often  recurring,  to  insure  the 
formation  of  the  habit,  and  not  to  let  the  heart,  open- 
ed by  one  gift,  have  time  to  close  up  before  it  opened 
for  the  next. 

As  to  the  amount  required,  there  was  as  much 
definiteness  as  was  needful  to  guide  to  a  generous 
result,  and  as  much  as  consisted  with  the  other  ends 
of  the  requirement ;  while  room  was  left  for  the  heart 
and  conscience  to  play  between  different  degrees  of 
generosity.  The  nature  of  an  act  of  charity  requires 
some  liberty  of  determining  when  and  how  much  to 
give.  If  our  Lord,  after  the  purchase  of  our  redemp- 
tion, had  written  and  hung  out  upon  the  skies  a 
tariff,  adjusting  each  one's  tax  for  charities  to  his 
income,  so  that  he  might  see  at  a  glance  that  his 


OLD  TESTAMENT  LAW.  15 

Redeemer  required  him  to  give  just  so  many  dollars 
and  cents,  he  would  have  brought  the  requirement 
down  to  bind  the  conscience.  But  he  would  have 
constructed  a  system  of  taxation,  rather  than  of 
charity.  That  would  have  changed  the  whole  na- 
ture of  the  duty,  and  its  whole  influence  upon  the 
heart. 

Two  things  were  required  in  the  law  of  charity : 
the  terms  must  be  specific  enough  to  guide  us  to  a 
course  of  habitual  and  generous  giving ;  and  they 
must  be  indefinite  enough  to  allow  us  to  show  our 
heart,  and  give  exercise  to  our  love  to  God  and  man 
in  what  we  give.  And  these  ends  were  provided  for 
in  the  Hebrew  economy.  The  lawgiver  seemed  to 
have  designed  to  set  God's  mark  on  the  most  com- 
mon articles  of  property  ;  so  that  while  employed  in 
his  fields  and  with  his  flocks,  and  in  gathering  his 
harvests,  each  one  should  be  constantly  reminded  of 
God's  claims,  and  of  his  own  obligation  and  de- 
pendence. 

In  the  first  place,  each  one  was  required  to  give 
the  first  fruits  both  of  his  flocks  and  of  his  field. 
The  first  fruits  of  the  harvest  were  by  custom  a  six- 
tieth part  of  the  whole.  Then  money  was  to  be  paid 
as  the  ransom  of  the  first-born  male  child.  Then  in 
reaping,  the  corners  of  the  field  were  to  be  left  for 
the  poor ;  here  also  custom  defined  the  requirement 
to  be  a  sixtieth  of  the  whole.  Then  whatever  fell 
from  the  reaper's  hand  belonged  to  the  poor      Then 


16  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

every  seventh  year  all  the  fields  were  to  be  left  un- 
tilled,  to  produce  spontaneously  for  the  poor.  Then 
a  tenth  of  all  the  products  of  the  fields  was  to  be 
given  to  the  Levites.  Then  there  were  trespass- 
offerings,  sin-ofTerings,  and  specified  portions  of  most 
of  the  sacrificed  animals  devoted  to  the  priesthood 
and  Levites.  Then  every  seventh  year  all  debts 
must  be  remitted ;  and  the  three  yearly  journeys  to 
Jerusalem,  which  were  required  of  all  the  males,  at 
the  festivals,  must  have  been  no  small  tax.  Added 
to  these  were  the  half  shekels  for  the  sanctuary,  and 
abundant  hospitalities  and  gifts  for  the  poor.  So 
that  a  conscientious  Hebrew  could  hardly  have  spent 
less  than  one-third  of  his  income  in  religious  and 
charitable  gifts. 

Nor  did  this  generous  charity  hinder  the  secular 
thrift  of  the  people.  It  was  so  adapted  to  their  wel- 
fare, spiritual  and  temporal,  and  so  sustained  in  the 
providence  of  God,  that  the  people  were  prosperous 
or  straitened  in  proportion  as  they  obeyed  or  disobeyed 
this  law.  When  they  honored  the  Lord  with  their 
substance,  and  the  first  fruits  of  all  their  increase, 
their  barns  were  filled  with  plenty.  "When  they 
robbed  God  in  tithes  and  offerings,  they  soon  found 
that  they  had  robbed  themiselves.  And  both  in  giv- 
ing such  a  law,  and  in  its  providential  enforcement, 
God  impressively  taught  that  he  would  have  his 
people  respond  to  his  gifts  by  large  and  systematic 
outlays  from  them.     Call  this  law,  if  you  please,  one 


OLD  TESTAMENT  LAW.  17 

of  the  rigors  of  the  Hebrew  economy  which  Christ 
has  set  aside.  It  rigorously  bound  that  people  to 
that  course  for  the  attainment  of  their  highest  good. 
It  was  really  no  burden,  except  when  their  trans- 
gressions involved  them  in  the  penalties  of  the  breach 
of  it. 

The  specific  provisions  of  the  tithe  system  have 
now  vanished  with  the  whole  fabric  of  Hebrew  insti- 
tutions ;  but  the  end  for  which  it  was  framed  has 
never  for  a  moment  departed  from  the  mind  of  the 
Framer,  and  the  general  obligation  to  extend  religion 
and  feed  the  poor,  by  freewill  offerings,  was  far  from 
being  set  aside  in  the  more  full  unfolding  of  the 
mercy  of  God  in  the  gospel.  In  displacing  the  an- 
cient ritual  with  a  simpler  and  nobler  economy,  the 
gospel  has  given  vastly  higher  enforcements  to  what 
was  of  moral  and  permanent  obligation  in  the  He- 
brew religion ;  and  this  is  preeminently  true  of  the 
substance  of  the  ancient  law  of  charity.  Before  f'lie 
frame  of  Judaism  was  reared,  the  requirement  for 
man  to  love  God  with  all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor 
as  himself,  was  recorded  on  tables  of  stone,  to  stand 
unobliterated  for  all  ages.  Then  came  in  Judaism, 
specifically  defining  in  what  forms  that  love  should, 
under  such  institutions,  have  expression.  But  when 
Judaism  passed  away,  the  original  law  stood  unim- 
paired, and  the  gospel  came  in,  specifying  other  forms 
of  expressing  this  love. 

On  the  basis  of  the  original  law  of  love,  the  gospel 


18  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

lays  another  specific  law  of  alms-giving.  The  temple 
and  its  costly  apparatus,  its  sacrifices  and  its  army 
of  priests  are  set  aside,  and  with  them  many  of  the 
occasions  for  the  gifts  prescribed.  But  the  provis- 
ions of  the  gospel  bring  in  vaster  occasions  for  the 
employment  of  the  grateful  offerings  of  redeemed 
sinners.  The  command  to  publish  the  gospel  to 
every  creature,  and  to  feed  the  poor  which  we  are  to 
have  with  us  always,  brings  upon  the  Christian 
world  occasions  as  great  and  urgent  as  those  of  the 
old  economy  ;  nor  is  there  any  intimation  or  ground 
of  inference  that  the  gifts  of  pious  men  under  the 
gospel  were  to  be  more  stinted  than  before.  If  the 
principle  announced  by  Christ,  that  to  whom  much 
is  given,  of  him  will  much  be  required,  is  applicable, 
a  much  more  generous  charity  is  required  of  us. 
There  were  many  things  in  Judaism  adapted  to 
narrow  the  range  of  charity.  It  confined  the  view 
to  one  small  nation,  as  the  field  of  all  benevolent 
operations.  It  gave  no  hint  of  the  conversion  of  the 
world  as  a  present  duty.  And  yet,  if  a  good  man's 
charity,  confined  to  such  narrow  bounds,  M^as  expect- 
ed to  consume  one-third  of  his  income,  can  less  be 
expected  of  us  whose  charity  is  bound  to  embrace 
the  world  ?  Not  that  the  poorest  of  us  are  required 
to  give  as  much ;  but  taking  men  of  all  conditions, 
who  shall  say  that  our  average  ought  not  to  be  as 
great  ? 


NEW  TESTAMENT  LAW.  fg 

III.  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  LAW  OF  CHARITY. 

Before  we  come  to  the  direct  inquiry,  as  to  what 
is  the  specific  law  of  the  New  Testament  on  this 
subject,  it  may  be  well  to  see  how  the  law  of  gospel 
love,  as  written  in  the  hearts  of  the  first  Christians, 
expressed  itself  in  their  conduct.  In  other  words, 
we  will  notice  the  effects  produced  on  the  church,  in 
this  particular,  by  the  setting  aside  of  the  Hebrew 
law ;  and  watch  the  motions  of  the  first  converts  to 
Christianity,  and  see  if  they  understood  the  New 
Testament  law  of  charity  as  requiring  less  than  that 
of  the  Old.  Charity,  in  the  form  of  gifts  to  the 
needy,  because  it  was  a  prime  element  of  Christian 
character,  was  made  one  of  the  most  prominent  traits 
in  those  specimens  of  that  character  that  were  first 
given  to  the  world.  There  was  no  result  of  the  first 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  after  Christ's  ascension, 
which  the  historian  records  with  more  of  zest  and 
delight,  than  the  remarkable  spirit  of  individual 
sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  On  no  other 
trait  of  character  does  he  so  much  expand  his  descrip- 
tion. And  after  an  interval  of  two  chapters,  he 
returns  to  it  again,  and  gives  us  other  particulars,  as 
if  here  were  one  of  the  most  surprising  phenomena 
of  the  whole.  But  this  was  a  specimen  of  Christian 
character  in  its  first  formation.  And  would  any  one 
gather  from  it,  that  the  law  of  charity  had  con- 
tracted its  compass  in  passing  over  from  Judaism  to 


20  LAW   OF   BENEFICENCE. 

the  gospel ;  or  that  the  spirit  of  love  breathed  less 
freely  in  the  heart  of  a  redeemed  sinner  under  the 
clearer  light  and  intenser  quickening  power  of  the 
new  covenant  ? 

But  a  common  misconception  here  intervenes,  and 
robs  us  of  the  practical  instruction  of  this  lumin- 
ous portion  of  Christian  history.  Most  Christians, 
in  determining  their  own  duty,  are  wont  to  lay  this 
wholly  out  of  view,  in  the  conceit  that  it  is  an 
instance  of  the  practice  of  the  community  system,, 
and  of  course  impracticable  for  them.  And  it  may 
be  worth  the  while  to  devote  a  few  paragraphs  in 
rescuing  this  instnictive  portion  of  history  from  this 
perversion.  If,  by  the  community  system,  we  under- 
stand the  rehnquishment  of  all  private  property,  and 
consolidating  the  goods  of  all  in  a  common  stock, 
nothing  like  that  resulted  from  thepentecostal  revival. 
This  appears  from  the  fact,  that  the  sequel  of  the 
history  speaks  of  these  and  other  Christians  as  being 
in  possession  of  their  private  property  after  these 
scenes  had  passed  away,  and  it  gives  us  no  trace  of 
the  common  stock,  nor  of  its  managers,  nor  of  any 
community  of  people  gathered  around  it.  After- 
wards, Christians  are  casually  spoken  of  as  having 
their  own  houses,  here  and  there,  like  other  people ; 
as  in  the  case  of  Mary  the  mother  of  John,  Tabitha, 
Simon  the  tanner,  and  Lydia.  Nor  did  Paul  think 
of  a  community  system  Avhen  he  said,  "If  any  pro- 
vide not  for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his 


NEW  TESTAMENT   LAW.  21 

own  house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse 
than  an  infidel." 

We  have,  then,  no  reason  to  beheve  that  there 
was  here  a  melting  down  of  all  individual  property 
into  a  common  mass,  to  be  controlled  by  managers 
of  the  common  fund  ;  but  that  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  Christian  institutions  in  the  mother  church 
at  Jerusalem,  and  in  meeting  the  wants  of  multi 
tudes  of  strangers  detained  there  long  beyond  theit 
expectations,  those  Christians  who  had  property  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  free  use  of  the  whole,  as  far  as  the 
existing  occasion  required.  This  limitation  is  ex- 
pressly inserted.  "  Distribution  was  made  unto  every 
man  according  as  he  had  needf  but  there  was  not 
an  alienation  of  property  beyond  the  present  need. 
There  was  no  actual  formation  of  a  common  stock ; 
but,  for  a  limited  time,  there  was  a  subsistence  of  the 
strangers  upon  the  freewill  offerings  of  those  at  home 
in  Jerusalem.  Peter,  after  this  mode  of  action  had 
been  in  use,  makes  an  express  acknowledgment  of 
each  one's  right  of  property,  by  saying  to  Ananias, 
"  While  it  remained,  was  it  not  thine  own ;  and  after 
it  was  sold,  was  it  not  in  thine  own  power?"  The 
assertion  that  they  "had  all  things  common,"  had  a 
parallel  in  this  Pythagorean  proverb,  "With  friends 
all  things  are  common."  But  the  Pythagoreans  did 
not  mean  by  this,  that  among  friends  each  one  had 
not  his  own  wife,  children,  property,  profession,  and 
business.     Nor  does  the  community  of  those  first 


22  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

Christians  exclude  such  distinctions.  The  historian 
says,  "  Neither  was  there  any  among  them  that 
lacked ;  for  as  many  as  were  possessed  of  lands  sold 
them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that 
were  sold,  and  laid  them  down  at  the  apostles'  feet;" 
but  to  show  that  the  sale  of  possessions  went  no 
further  than  the  wants  of  those  that  "  had  need'' 
and  that  it  was  not  a  general  and  entire  alienation 
of  property,  one  person  is  named  who  actually  gave 
up  all,  and  one  who  pretended  to  have  done  it.  One 
would  not  have  been  thus  named,  if  the  same  had 
been  done  by  all. 

It  is  not  asserted,  then,  that  all  gave  up  all  their 
property,  but  that  all  subjected  their  property  to  a 
free  use,  so  far  as  the  existing  occasions  required. 
This  fully  justifies  the  broad  terms  of  the  historian. 
In  a  like  sense,  the  disciples  were  said  to  have  left 
all  and  followed  Christ.  Yet  they  neither  alienated 
their  estates,  nor  dissolved  their  families.  For  after 
that,  Christ  went  to  Simon's  house,  and  found  his 
family,  even  to  his  wife's  mother,  in  it.  After  that, 
he  taught  in  Peter's  ship,  and  committed  his  mother 
to  John's  adoption  and  support — an  act  unmeaning, 
if  John  had  no  separate  family  nor  means  of  support. 
And,  after  his  death,  the  disciples  seem  to  have  re- 
turned to  fishing  in  their  own  ships.  Indeed,  neither 
here  nor  in  any  other  scripture,  can  we  find  a  shred 
of  a  warrant  for  a  community  of  goods.  Such  a  sys- 
tem would  nullify  the  whole  law  of  alms-giving; 


NEW  TESTAMENT   LAW.  23 

for,  how  can  tliey  exercise  themselves  in  giving  alms 
who  have  no  property  to  give  ? 

That  development  of  the  spirit  of  Christian  charity, 
which  was  one  of  the  greatest  wonders  of  the  pente- 
costal  scene,  was  then  no  abnormal  condition  of  the 
church,  no  production  of  a  peculiar  and  temporary 
policy,  but  the  natural  unfolding  of  the  Christian 
spirit,  under  the  quickening  influence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  was  nothing  more  than  what  would  be 
required  of  all  Christians,  in  the  same  circum- 
stances. It  was  alms-giving,  occupying  the  due 
relative  position  among  the  other  Christian  graces. 
It  seems  wonderful  to  us,  because  so  strange  to 
our  present  habits,  so  above  our  low  conceptions  of 
the  duty.  It  involves  no  principle  which  cannot 
be  shown  to  be  universally  binding.  And  as  we 
pass  from  Hebrew  institutions  over  into  the  first 
practice  of  Christian  alms,  we  not  only  come  into 
the  sphere  of  a  more  expanded  charity — a  charity 
well  escaped  from  confinement  to  a  single  nation, 
and  going  forth  to  embrace  the  world — but  also  find 
ourselves  in  a  centre  of  light  as  to  the  duty  in  ques- 
tion. 

In  the  first  place,  this  example,  vindicated  from, 
misconception,  shows  by  what  tenure  the  Christian 
holds  his  property.  While  those  Christians  had  pos- 
sessions of  property,  they  had  them  ''as  though  they 
possessed  not.'"  Each  felt  that  he  had  no  claim  to 
his  own  which  could  bar  the  claim  of  Christ.     And 


24  LAW  OF   BENEFICENCE. 

he  let  Christ  fully  into  his  houses,  and  lands,  and 
possessions,  as  far  as  the  need  of  his  people  would 
carry  him.  Here  we  have  the  germ  of  the  all-per- 
vading principle  of  Christian  alms.  That  principle 
makes  every  holder  of  property  a  steward,  not  an 
original  owner.  That  principle  was  here  set  up,  in 
the  first  setting  up  of  the  Christian  church,  claiming 
deference  as  a  fundamental  law  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
in  the  whole  work  of  raising  supplies  for  the  sacra- 
mental host  of  God's  elect,  in  the  conquest  of  the 
world.  And  if  this  principle  could  now  fully  reas- 
sert its  dominion  in  every  Christian  heart,  both  the 
church  and  the  world  would  soon  he  transformed. 
New  force  would  be  given  to  the  law  of  love  in  all 
its  ramifications.  Let  professed  Christians  feel  that 
they  hold  their  property  only  as  stewards,  bound  at 
any  time  to  surrender  it  when  the  wants  of  the  poor 
or  of  the  church  are  such  that  the  general  good 
requires  the  surrender,  and  the  church  will  speedily 
come  in  possession  of  the  means  for  every  conquest. 
Let  all,  then,  who  have  perplexities  and  cases  of 
conscience  about  the  right  use  of  property,  com.e  and 
solve  all  doubts,  by  adopting  the  simple  principle  of 
those  first  Christians,  and  have  "as  though  they 
possessed  not." 

Another  point  of  instruction  in  the  example  of  the 
early  Christians  is,  that  the  exigencies  of  the  church, 
and  of  a  sjoreading  gospel,  are  not  second  to  those 
of  suffering  humanity  in  their  claims  on  charity. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  LAW.  25 

The  occasion  for  the  pentecostal  contributions  was 
chiefly  rehgious.  Those  converts  were  no  paupers, 
nor  beggars,  but  rather  learners  of  the  gospel,  for 
the  instruction  of  the  world.  They  had  come  up  to 
the  annual  festival  of  ingathering,  as  usual,  with 
sufficient  provision  for  their  return.  But,  having 
themselves  been  gathered  in,  they  found  unexpected 
occasions  to  protract  their  tarrying.  It  was  needful 
that  they  should  "  continue  steadfastly  in  the  apostles' 
doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and 
in  prayers."  Those  were  most  busy  and  important 
days.  For  there  were  the  germs  of  the  church  for 
a  thousand  cities  and  villages,  sprinkled  over  the 
world.  Jerusalem  was  the  only  centre  of  light 
where  they  could  get  the  instruction  and  furniture 
of  mind  which  they  needed,  to  become  radiating 
centres  wherever  they  went.  And  the  interests  of 
the  whole  Christian  cause  required  that  these  first 
Christians  should  tarry  at  Jerusalem  long  enough 
to  get  adequate  instruction,  and  the  baptism  of  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  For,  at  that  time,  all  the 
Christianity  in  the  world  was  there.  Not  a  word 
of  it  had  been  written ;  not  a  preacher  of  it  had 
gone  anywhere  else.  And  all  these  Christians  must 
there  abide,  till  they  got  an  adequate  idea  of  what 
they  were  to  communicate  to  the  world.  These 
interests,  in  such  hearts,  being  paramount  to  all 
others,  extinguished,  so  far  as  any  had  need,  all  pri- 
vate claims  to  property.      This  first  and  subhme 


26  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

instance  of  alms-giving,  in  the  organized  Cliristian 
church,  was  an  instance  of  alms  given  for  religious 
ends — for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

This  instance  also  shows  what  a  high  position  re- 
ligious charity  holds  among  other  Christian  duties. 
These  men,  after  embracing  religion  in  its  trans- 
forming power,  and  then  in  its  outward  ordinances, 
are  said  to  have  attended  to  Christian  instruction, 
prayer,  and  fellowship.  And  the  next  thing  said  of 
them  is,  that  among  these  prime  duties  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  they  exercised  this  remarkable  liberality. 
This  duty  is  not  located  out  on  some  remote  branch 
or  twig  of  the  system,  where  our  habits  have  placed 
it,  but  in  the  very  heart  and  centre.  And  it  is  dwelt 
upon,  and  repeated  by  the  historian,  as  one  of  the 
most  delightful  and  characteristic  events  of  the  whole. 
Surely  the  genius  of  Christianity,  as  there  developed, 
has  entered  but  poorly  into  our  conceptions. 

There  is  also  instruction  in  the  fact,  that  those 
Christians  "  sold  their  possessions  "  to  raise  money 
for  the  emergency.  This  is  a  hint  to  us,  that  the 
advantage  of  good  investments  of  property  must 
yield  to  the  higher  law  of  the  necessities  of  Christ. 
Many  cannot  afford  gifts  proportionate  to  their 
means,  because  their  property  is  so  invested  that 
they  cannot  command  the  ready  money.  And  per- 
haps some  unconsciously  felicitate  themselves  that 
they  have  their  funds  hid  away  from  Christ,  and 
dream  not  of  any  obligation  to  change  investments 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  27 

of  funds  that  are  yielding  good  incomes,  for  any 
emergencies  of  charity.  Yet  here  we  see,  that  in 
the  spring-time  and  primitive  development  of  Chris- 
tianity, men  were  of  another  mind. 

You  will  next  observe,  that  these  gifts  were  all  free- 
will offerings.  Each  one's  right  of  property  was  re- 
spected ;  no  law  imposed  a  fixed  rate  of  contribution, 
and  none  required  the  whole  of  any  one's  property. 
One,  prompted  by  his  glowing  love  for  the  cause, 
judged  it  to  be  his  duty  in  his  circumstances  to  sur- 
render the  whole.  Here  operated  that  principle 
which  we  have  already  noticed,  leaving  individual 
hearts  to  spontaneous  action,  and  yet  securing  a  gen- 
erous action.  So  much  for  the  Christian  law  of  alms, 
as  it  appears  on  the  first  page  of  Christian  history. 

IV.    LAW  OF  PERIODICAL  ALMS-G-IVINa. 

God's  plan,  in  making  the  wants  of  the  church 
and  of  the  poor  a  lever  to  bring  the  hearts  of  Chris- 
tians up  to  higher  elevations  and  habits  of  benevo- 
lence, appears  on  every  page  of  the  gospel,  but  our 
purpose  confines  us  to  those  passages  wherein  the 
Christian  rule  of  alms-giving  is  presisnted  in  its  di- 
rect and  specific  form.  We  need  not  a  law  of  char- 
ity which  is  every  thing  in  general  and  nothing  in 
particular.  We  need  that  which  comes  as  near  to 
regulating  the  proportion  of  each  one's  income,  as 
the  design  of  alms-giving  will  allow.  And  this  we 
have  in  1  Cor.,  16:1,2. 


28  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

*'  Now  CONCERNING  THE  COLLECTION  FOR  THE 
SAINTS,  AS  I  HAVE  GIVEN  ORDER  TO  THE  CHURCHES  OF 
GaLATIA,  EVEN  SO  DO  YE.  TJPON  THE  FIRST  DAY  OP 
THE  WEEK,  LET  EVERY  ONE  OF  YOU  LAY  BY  HIM  IN 
STORE,  AS  God  has  prospered  HIM,  THAT  THERE  BE 
NO  GATHERINGS  WHEN  I  COME." 

We  have  here,  as  we  propose  to  show,  a  rule 
which  binds  all  to  the  principle  of  setting  apart, 
every  Sabbath,  or  at  least  statedly,  a  portion  of  their 
income  or  their  means  of  living,  as  God  shall  prosper 
them,  for  charitable  uses :  it  being  understood,  that 
this,  Uke  all  other  rules  of  its  class,  binds  in  its  gen- 
eral principle  and  intent,  but  is  subject  to  modifica- 
tions in  its  details,  when  brought  to  individual  appli- 
cation. Even  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  uttered  in  the 
broadest  terms,  bends  in  adjustment  to  cases  of  need- 
ful mercy.  And  though  the  rule  here  given  is  as 
universal  in  its  terms,  it  does  not  of  course  bind  those 
who  have  no  income  to  set  apart  a  portion  of  income. 
Nor  does  it  bind  the  man  whose  salary  or  means  of 
living  is  received  annually  or  quarterly,  or  the  mer- 
chant engaged  in  large  adventures,  or  any  one  who 
cannot  know  at  every  week's  end  what  his  income 
has  been,  actually  to  set  apart  a  weekly  proportion 
of  income.  But  it  would  seem  to  require  that  every 
one  should  have  his  stated  seasons  for  a  conscientious 
apportionment  to  his  charity  fund,  either  in  cash  or 
by  entry  on  a  benevolent  account,  according  to  his 
circumstances,  and  in  such  a  mode  as  he  shall  see  fit 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  29 

to  adopt.  The  intent  of  the  rule  cannot  be  answer- 
ed without  S(y)7ie  form  of  stated,  systematic  action. 
Each  one  is  required  to  adopt  some  regular  system 
of  charity  which  shall  come  within  the  spirit  of  the 
rule  ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a  prominent  design 
of  the  Lawgiver  to  put  each  one  upon  the  exercise  of 
his  own  judgment  and  conscience,  in  the  execution 
of  the  general  provisions  of  his  law. 

For  illustration,  and  for  suggestion  to  those  who  can- 
not devise  for  themselves  a  better  mode,  we  here  state 
the  method  in  which  two  persons,  unknown  to  each 
other,  and  in  circumstances  widely  different,  have  ful- 
filled their  own  idea  of  this  rule,  with  benefit,  as  they 
believe,  to  themselves  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

One,  every  Sabbath  evening  at  the  hour  of  his 
private  devotion,  lays  aside  the  sum  which  he  thinks 
he  ought  to  devote  for  that  week  to  charitable  pur- 
poses. If  he  has  not  the  money,  he  charges  the 
amount  against  himself  in  favor  of  his  charity  fund. 
When  there  is  a  call  for  donations,  he  takes  from  this 
fund  what  he  thinks  he  should  give.  If  a  call  of 
special  urgency  comes,  which  what  he  has  set  apart 
will  not  fully  meet,  he  overdraws  the  fund,  and 
charges  against  it  the  balance,  to  be  cancelled  by 
future  incomes.  Thus  in  a  very  simple  and  easy 
way  the  work  is  reduced  to  a  system,  in  connection 
with  the  spiritual  exercises  of  the  Sabbath. 

The  other  is  a  prosperous  merchant,  who  resolves 
that  whatever  his  future  profits  shall  be,  he  will  de- 


30  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

vote  a  certain  per  cent,  to  charity,  enlarging  the  per- 
centage if  his  profits  shall  exceed  a  certain  sum.  On 
the  first  day  of  every  month  he  takes  an  inventory, 
ascertains  what  have  been  his  profits,  and  credits 
the  percentage  on  his  charity  account.  When  calls 
are  presented,  he  draws  from  this  fund  ;  and  for  some 
years  he  has  been  surprised  to  find  that  it  is  so  pro- 
ductive. He  meets  calls  with  pleasure,  and  is  a 
happy  man  in  prayer  and  labor  to  obtain  means,  of 
which  not  a  stinted  portion  is  sacredly  consecrated 
to  God. 

But  to  return  to  the  passage  before  us  :  the  first 
point  of  instruction  here  presented  is,  that  this  rule 
is  not  given  as  mere  advice,  which  we  are  at  liberty 
to  disregard.  Paul  says,  "I  have  given  order''  to 
this  effect.  Nor  was  it  a  rule  framed  for  mere  local 
and  temporary  use.  He  had  imposed  it  before  on 
the  Galatian  churches,  and  now  lays  it  on  the  Corin- 
thian church,  whose  circumstances  were  very  differ- 
ent ;  and  it  was  laid  in  imperative  terms  by  an  apostle 
speaking  by  inspiration. 

The  next  point  is,  that  alms- giving  is  a  ivoi'k  for 
every  Sabbath.  "  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  let 
every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store."  Here  noth- 
ing is  said  for  or  against  collections  made  in  the 
church  on  the  Sabbath.  The  command  is,  that  as 
often  as  the  Sabbath  comes,  we  should  take  out  of 
our  means  of  living  a  portion,  and  devote  it  to  char- 
itable uses.     And  this,  in  its  very  terms,  refutes  one 


TERIODICAL   ALMS-GIVING.  3] 

of  the  commonplaces  of  Christian  penuriousness . 
that  the  handling  of  money  is  a  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  preaching  about  filthy  lucre  is  a 
profanation  of  sacred  things ;  for  here  is  an  express 
command  of  God,  to  handle  money  for  one  purpose 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  It  would  seem  that 
the  first  Christi3.ns  had  such  a  type  of  religion,  that 
their  handling  of  money  was  indispensable  to  Sab- 
bath sanctification,  and  that  their  Sabbath  prayers 
and  praises  could  not  ascend,  but  as  accompanied 
with  their  alms. 

Another  penurious  maxim  is  also  set  aside  by  this 
text,  to  wit,  that  calls  for  charity  are  too  frequent. 
Enterprises  of  Christian  philanthropy  are  so  multi- 
plied and  various,  that  scarcely  a  month  passes  with- 
out a  call  from  Christian  pulpits  for  new  donations, 
and  this  is  quite  an  annoyance  to  those  who  have 
some  conscience  and  less  benevolence.  Now  this 
text  points  out  a  way  in  which  this  struggle  be- 
tween conscience  and  inclination  can  be  forestalled. 
Let  every  one  come  into  a  habit  of  not  waiting  for 
any  calls,  but  of  setting  apart  every  Sabbath,  or  at 
other  stated  periods,  the  portion  which  he  ought  to 
give,  and  he  will  experience  no  annoyance  from  the 
frequent  calls  of  agents.  Until  he  does  this,  he  fails 
to  come  up  to  the  apostolic  rule  as  to  the  frequency 
of  his  alms.  This  is  the  way  to  "make  up  before- 
hand your  bounty,  that  the  same  may  be  ready  as  a 
matter  of  bounty,  and  not  as  of  covetousness." 


32  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

It  will  naturally  be  asked,  Why  this  duty  must 
needs  he  done  on  the  Sahbath?  "Whatever  may 
have  been  the  reason  of  this  provision,  it  is  a  matter 
of  fact,  that  the  converted  Jews  had  been  .accus- 
tomed to  a  like  arrangement.  Both  Philo  and  Jose 
phus  inform  us  that  the  Jews  were  wont  every  Sab- 
bath to  make  collections  at  their  synagogues,  of  their 
tithes  and  spontaneous  gifts,  to  be  sent  to  the  temple. 
This  custom  was  adopted  into  the  Christian  church, 
with  such  modifications  as  the  new  dispensation  re- 
quired. The  appropriation  required  to  be  made  at 
home,  irrespective  of  a  church  contribution,  would 
secure  a  more  universal  compliance,  than  if  it,  was 
to  be  made  in  the  church  from  which  some  would 
be  detained ;  and  yet  it  did  not  hinder  public  coUec 
tions,  when  convenience  required  them. 

One  of  the  reasons  for  connecting  alms-giving  with 
the  Sabbath  doubtless  was,  to  secure  the  periodical 
and  constant  action  of  the  heart  in  the  work.  To 
make  this  action  sure,  a  particular  day  of  the  week  is 
named  when  it  should  be  done,  and  when  it  would 
be  less  liable  to  be  crowded  out  of  mind  by  other 
cares.  And  this  order  being  obeyed,  the  habit  of 
frequent  giving  is  secured.  The  mind  as  often  as 
the  Sabbath  comes  round,  is  put  upon  reviewing  the 
course  of  providence,  and  the  prosperity  experienced, 
and  deciding  in  view  of  it  how  much  ought  to  be 
given,  and  so  is  kept  in  the  constant  exercise  of  be- 
nevolence, and  holding  constant  checks  on  avaricious 


TERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  33 

aspirations.  So  this  employment,  while  it  secures  its 
main  end  upon  the  heart  of  the  giver,  harmonizes 
with  all  the  other  employments  of  the  Sabbath.  For 
the  sanctification  of  the  soul  in  its  Sabbath  work,  it  is 
required,  not  only  to  bring  the  mind  under  the  quick- 
ening influence  of  the  gospel,  read  and  preached  and 
meditated  upon,  not  only  to  engage  it  in  acts  of 
prayer  and  praise,  but  to  enlist  it  in  acts  of  love  to 
man,  and  in  conflict  with  selfishness.  Our  Sabbath 
religion  must  be  not  only  a  matter  of  thought  and 
feeling,  but  of  self-denying  action.  "It  is  lawful  to 
do  good  on  the  Sabbath-day."  This  action,  steadily 
and  habitually  sustained,  plays  upon  the  very  citadel 
of  our  selfishness,  which  is  the  great  enemy  of  our 
sanctification  :  our  keeping  up  a  sleepless  warfare 
at  this  point,  brings  assistance  to  the  other  appropri- 
ate operations  of  the  mind,  and  employs  the  whole 
mechanism  of  the  soul  in  harmony  with  Sabbath 
engagements.  And  the  constant  repetition  of  small 
gifts  does  more  towards  a  benevolent  formation  of 
heart,  than  the  same  amount  given  in  larger  sums 
at  wider  intervals. 

Another  reason  is,  that  gifts  so  often  repeated, 
most  effectually  secure  a  large  amount.  The  rule, 
in  its  structure,  bears  an  evident  design  to  favor  the 
poorer  classes,  and  give  them  an  effective  share  in 
the  blessedness  of  benefaction.  Living  more  from 
hand  to  mouth,  they  have  not  the  means  at  hand,  if 
they  would,  to  make  large  donations,  but  by  weekly 

Law  of  Bencf.  3 


34  LAW   OF   BE^'EFICE^CE. 

additions  to  tlieir  charity-treasure,  tliey  may  produce 
a  rich  result  at  the  year's  end  ;  and  in  all  this  process 
of  laying  aside  the  Httle  that  they  can  spare,  they 
are  making  just  as  much  sacrifice  and  cultivation  of 
heart,  and  of  course  doing  as  much  towards  the  prime 
purpose  of  giving,  as  their  wealthy  neighbors  who 
give  ten  times  as  much.  The  little  sums  thus  laid 
aside  fall  into  their  place  in  the  ordinary  calculation 
of  expenses,  and  are  provided  for  at  the  same  time 
with  our  meat  and  drink  ;  and  in  thus  sharing,  as  it 
"were,  oyr  daily  sustenance  with  the  poor,  and  bring- 
ing the  toil-worn  missionary,  as  it  were,  to  eat  at  our 
table,  we  come  into  a  most  affecting  form  of  com- 
munion with  Christ,  and  all  who  love  his  cause, 
while  we  are  taking  the  best  course  to  enable  us  to 
make  the  most  of  our  contributions  from  a  slender  in- 
come. Without  some  plan  like  this,  the  constantly 
recurring  calls  for  things  needful  and  superfluous 
would  absorb  our  income,  and  for  the  most  part  ex- 
clude our  charities.  But  were  all  who  acknowledge 
the  obligation  to  give  at  all,  including  old  and  young, 
rich  and  poor,  to  come  under  this  rule,  a  vast  increase 
of  charitable  funds  would  be  realized. 

The  first  application  of  this  rule  in  its  definite 
form,  which  we  have  on  record,  was  to  the  churches 
in  Galatia,  in  Avhich  the  poor  abounded.  And  then 
it  was  found  to  be  equally  suitable  to  the  ivealth- 
ier  Christians  at  Corinth,  situated  amidst  temp- 
tations to  luxury  and  extravagance.     At  any  rate. 


PERIODICAL   ALMS-GIVING.  35 

it  is  at  once  adapted  to  operate  kindly  among  the 
necessities  of  the  humbler  classes,  and  to  hold  salu- 
tary checks  upon  the  extravagances  of  the  rich.  It 
brings  each  one,  once  a  week,  to  a  reckoning  with 
himself  as  to  his  use  of  the  gifts  of  Providence, 
Is  there  a  Christian  whose  easily  besetting  sin  is 
extravagance,  who  is  spending  more  than  a  good 
conscience  would  dictate,  in  the  matters  of  style,  or 
in  the  elegances  and  superfluities  of  life,  this  rule 
would  seem  to  have  been  made  on  purpose  for  him. 
It  arraigns  him  once  a  week  before  his  conscience  and 
his  God,  to  debate  questions  touching  this  very  sub- 
ject. Let  him  adopt  the  rule,  and  he  is  led  at  once 
to  a  course  of  mental  exercises,  in  which  he  cannot 
retain  both  his  peace  of  mind  and  his  habits  of  extrav- 
agance. The  Sabbath  comes,  and  after  engaging  in 
the  devotions  of  the  day,  both  pubhc  and  private, 
he  sits  down  under  the  full  impression  of  all  he  has 
heard  and  read  of  Christ  and  his  salvation,  and  of 
all  that  he  has  himself  uttered  in  his  prayers  and 
praises,  and  makes  his  decision  as  to  how  much  the 
Lord  has  prospered  him,  and  for  what  end,  and  what 
obhgations  that  prosperity  confers  ;  and  he  must  be 
slow  to  admit  reproof  if  some  of  his  superfluities  are 
not  soon  lopped  off'.  If  he  fail  to  take  the  hint  at 
first,  this  debate  in  conscience  is  of  course  renewed 
once  a  week,  and  he  is  brought  back  to  the  subject  in 
all  varieties  of  circumstances  and  modes  of  feeling ; 
and  if  any  thing  can  cure  a  Christian's  habitual  ex- 


36  LAW  OF   BENEFICENCE. 

travagance,  this  must  be  the  remedy.  By  imposing 
this  rule,  God,  as  it  were,  every  Sabbath  takes  each 
Cteistiaii  aside  and  puts  to  him  the  deHcate  question, 
how  he  has  been  prospered,  and  how  much  he  can 
afford  to  give  to  Him  from  whom  he  receives  all. 
And  he  does  this  at  the  time  when  the  rational  pow- 
ers and  spiritual  affections  may  be  supposed  to  be  in 
the  most  vigorous  exercise. 

But  there  may  be  a  more  specific  reason  why  this 
day,  and  not  any  other  of  the  week,  is  set  apart  for  this 
purpose?  We  may  be  invited  to  bring  our  grateful 
offerings  to  the  Lord's  treasury  on  this  day,  because 
the  very  design  of  the  Sabbath  makes  it  a  day  of 
thanksgiving  and  of  grateful  remembrance  of  the 
work  of  redemption.  The  Christian  Sabbath  cele- 
brates a  new  creation  as  a  subject  of  more  elevated 
praise  than  that  on  which  "  the  morning  stars  sang 
together."  And  it  is  fitting,  that  our  grateful  joy 
should  have  expression  in  substantial  acts,  as  well  as 
in  woVds  and  songs.  He  who  made  the  mind,  and 
who  best  knows  how  to  touch  all  its  springs  and 
cause  us  to  make  melody  in  our  hearts  to  the  Lord, 
knows  that  the  giving  of  gifts  is  a  natural  expression 
of  grateful  joy,  and  that  the  incense  connected  with 
freewill  offering,  sweetly  blends  with  our  songs  of 
praise  for  redeeming  love. 

Again,  the  religious  nature  and  ohligatimis  of  the 
duty  of  alms-giving,  make  the  appointment  of  the 
Sabbath  for  the  time  of  doing  it,  peculiarly  proper. 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  37 

The  several  Sabbath  employments  naturally  aid 
each  other.  Prayer  and  praise  quicken  and  elevate 
the  mind  for  more  effectual  meditation  on  the  word 
of  God,  and  so  all  the  fit  employments  of  the  Sab- 
bath may  tend  to  revive  our  sense  of  obligation,  and 
our  benevolent  emotions,  and  thus  serve  as  prompters 
to  our  acts  of  charity.  The  Christian  mind  as  really 
communes  wdth  God,  in  the  act  of  devoting  to  a  char- 
itable use  a  portion  of  the  gifts  of  God,  as  in  prayer 
and  praise.  God's  authority  binds  the  conscience, 
and  the  love  of  Christ  constrains  the  heart  to  the 
act,  and  the  mind  moves  responsive  to  the  known 
will  of  Christ.  Such  acts  are  a  proper  expression  of 
that  charity  of  which  Paul  says,  "  Now  abideth  faith, 
hope,  charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
charity."  This  is,  then,  one  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
and  as  the  design  of  the  Sabbath  is  for  the  quicken- 
ing of  grace,  this  grace  should  be  called  into  action 
on  the  Sabbath;  and  as  this  grace  is  in  many  minds 
one  of  the  most  difficult  of  exercise,  the  aids  which 
other  Sabbath  exercises  give  should  be  called  in,  and 
our  prayers  and  our  alms  should  go  up  together  as  a 
memorial  before  God.  The  fitness  of  this  connection 
of  things  has  illustration  in  the  experience  of  minis- 
ters, who,  after  the  exercises  of  the  Sabbath,  find  theii 
minds  vastly  quickened  in  forming  conceptions  of  di- 
vine truth,  and  in  all  spiritual  exercises. 

God  has  established  this  connection  between  our 
Sabbath  employments,  and  set   the   duty  of  alms- 


38  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

giving  high  among  them,  doubtless  with  the  design 
that  it  may  have  a  more  effective  performance.  A 
time  has  been  chosen  when  the  mind  may  be  sup- 
posed to  be  in  the  most  favorable  posture,  a  time 
when  we  have  retreated  farthest  from  the  world  and 
its  excitements  to  avarice,  and  are  most  susceptible  of 
spiritual  motives.  If  we  wished  to  get  a  large  dona- 
tion from  one,  for  some  benevolent  object,  we  should 
choose  our  time  to  approach  him,  and  especially  the 
time  when  the  realizings  of  eternity  were  most  upon 
him.  Thus  God  does,  and  comes  to  us  for  our  gift 
in  the  midst  of  our  Sabbath  devotions — in  the  midst 
of  our  professions  of  gratitude  and  love.  He  comes 
in  and  takes  us  at  our  word.  We  have  perhaps  been 
singing, 

"All  that  I  am,  and  all  I  have, 

Shall  be  for  ever  thine ; 

Whate'er  my  duty  bids  me  give, 

My  cheerful  hands  resign." 

He  then  comes  in  with  an  opportunity  for  us  to  give 
what  our  duty  bids ;  hence  the  admirable  fitness  of 
the  time.  If  there  is  to  be  a  set  time,  who  will  not 
say  that  this  is  the  time  ?  If  it  had  been  a  uni- 
versal custom  to  do  this  work  on  one  particular  day 
of  the  week,  and  that  not  the  Sabbath,  and  if  now  a 
transfer  were  to  be  made,  and  the  work  were  to  be 
brought  within  the  Sabbath,  a  great  advance  in  the 
amount  given  would  doubtless  be  reahzed.  Even 
the  merchant,  who  monthly  or  at  other  stated  times 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  39 

carries  to  a  benevolent  account  the  sum  devoted  to 
charity,  may  derive  great  advantage  from  s'^tting 
apart  on  the  Sabbath  a  httle  season  for  ''  grateful 
communion"  with  Christ  in  reference  to  the  claims 
of  the  various  departments  of  benevolence,  and  in 
prayer  for  direction  and  a  blessing  on  his  humble 
offerings. 

Further,  the  duty  is  laid  07i  every  one.  "  Let  everij 
one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store."  Though  those  who 
are  themselves  objects  of  charity  and  have  nothing 
to  give,  would  not  come  within  the  rule  ;  and  though 
those  whose  incomes  do  not  admit  of  so  detailed  a 
distribution,  would  be  allowed  to  answer  the  intent 
of  the  rule  in  the  form  which  their  circumstances  re- 
quire ;  yet,  with  such  modifications,  the  rule  is  univer- 
sal with  rich  and  poor.  If  it  be  thought  an  objection 
that  too  much  of  religious  charities  must  thus  come 
from  the  gifts  of  the  poor,  we  answer,  it  will  not  be 
so,  provided  they  do  not  go  beyond  the  measure  of 
the  prosperity  which  God  has  given  them.  Hither- 
to rehgious  enterprises  have  been  mainly  sustained 
by  the  confluence  of  small  streams,  coming  in  from 
those  in  moderate  conditions.  Yea,  it  is  one  of  the 
excellences  of  these  enterprises,  that  they  unite  the 
hearts  of  rich  and  poor ;  and  convey  to  the  poor  as 
much  of  the  benefit  of  giving  as  to  the  rich.  And 
will  any  count  it  treason  to  allow  the  poorest  to  share 
in  the  luxury  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  poor  ?  Has 
not  the  gospel  done  enough  for  the  poor  to  warrant 


40  LAW  OF  JBENEFICE.\CE. 

such  responses  of  gratitude  from  them  ?  Has  not 
God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith  and 
heirs  of  the  kingdom  ?  And  has  he  denied  to  these 
heirs  of  the  kingdom  all  share  in  the  work  of  ad- 
vancing his  kingdom  ?  His  order  to  the  churches  in 
Galatia,  where  the  poor  abounded,  was,  "  Let  every 
one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store." 

Nor  did  he  intend  to  impose  a  burden,  but  to  con- 
fer a  privilege.  And  he  has  so  shaped  the  require- 
ment, because  unwilling  to  exclude  the  poor  from  a 
needful  means  of  grace.  He  who  was  anointed  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  would  not  so  frame 
his  system  as  to  cut  off  the  poor  from  the  channels 
through  which  he  conveys  the  riches  of  his  grace ; 
and  most  impressive  is  the  assurance  which  he  has 
given  us  of  this,  in  the  value  which  he  stamped  on 
the  widow's  farthing.  While  sitting  in  the  temple 
and  watching  the  people  casting  their  gifts  into  the 
treasury,  and  after  some  had  made  princely  dona- 
tions, he  saw  a  poor  widow  come  and  drop  in  two 
mites,  which  made  a  farthing.  That  went  to  his 
heart ;  and  with  solemn  emphasis  in  the  use  of  that 
"Verily,"  or  Amen,  which  only  he  ever  used  in  such 
a  way,  he  asserted  that  the  value  of  the  widow's  gift 
exceeded  the  sum  total  of  all  the  rest ;  and  why  ? 
Because  there  was  more  of  sacrifice  made,  more  of 
benevolent  heart  expended,  and  so  a  deeper  and  rich- 
er participation  of  sanctifying  experience  had,  which 
is  the  ultimate  end  of  all  gifts. 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  41 

Here  is  presented  such  a  scale  of  valuation  of  oui 
gifts  as  brings  the  rich  and  poor  upon  one  level,  and 
puts  to  flight  all  reasons  that  would  exclude  the  poor. 
"Whatever  others  may  think,  Christ  makes  the  small- 
est gifts  of  the  poor  as  indispensable,  and  of  as  much 
value,  as  the  large  donations  of  the  rich.  Ever 
watchful  for  fit  incidents  from  which  to  flash  forth 
instruction  upon  all  ages,  he  here  seized  upon  a  case 
of  the  smallest  donation  made  by  extreme  poverty, 
and  held  it  forth  as  our  warrant  to  value  all  gifts  ac- 
cording to  the  sacrifice  made,  and  so  make  the  gifts 
of  the  poor,  not  only  as  acceptable  to  God,  but  as  val- 
uable towards  the  ultimate  end  of  filling  the  world 
with  the  glory  of  God,  as  the  proportionate  gifts  of 
the  rich.  And  so  when  he  said,  "  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,"  he  intended  not  to  utter 
startling  paradoxes,  but  to  declare  a  plain  matter  of 
fact  in  that  divine  plan  which  in  many  ways  betrays 
a  generous  partiality  to  the  poor,  in  the  distribution 
of  spiritual  favors ;  and  to  sustain  this  partiality,  he 
must  give  the  poor  an  equal  share  in  the  blessedness 
of  giving,  and  this,  and  even  more  than  this,  they 
have  ever  had. 

But  if  it  be  a  general  law  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
that  gifts  in  charity  weigh  in  the  balance  of  the  sanc- 
tuary according  to  the  amount  of  the  sacrifice  made, 
the  concurrence  of  those  of  the  smallest  income  is 
indispensable.  Suppose  you  can  give  but  a  cent  a 
week,  that  shall  introduce  you  to  all  the  soul-enrich- 


42  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

ing  influences  of  giving.  As  an  instrament  of  com- 
munion with  Christ,  and  of  binding  your  soul  to  him, 
your  copper  coin  is  as  effectual  as  the  gold  of  others. 
And  who  can  tell,  that  carrying  a  special  blessing 
with  it,  and  guided  to  its  result  by  the  partial  re- 
gards of  the  Hedeemer,  it  may  not  actually  produce 
more  than  the  larger  gifts,  made  with  less  sacrifice 
and  prayer  ?  Cases  are  not  wanting  of  the  single 
penny-tract  having  originated  trains  of  light  and  sal- 
vation, branching  forth  and  extending  beyond  human 
computation.  And  who  can  tell  that  these  small 
grains  of  mustard-seed,  that  have  produced  the  great 
trees,  have  not  come  from  those  whose  "  deep  pov- 
erty abounded  to  the  riches  of  their  liberality." 

Make  the  small  gifts  of  the  poor  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, and  confine  to  the  rich  the  obligation  to  give, 
and  you  would  render  the  whole  commandment  a 
nullity.  If  God  had  left  to  all  but  the  'pow  the  com- 
mand to  give,  this  would  have  been  a  poverty-stricken 
world.  To  make  it  of  any  effect,  it  must  run  impar- 
tially from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  It  must  hold 
the  pence  as  carefully  as  the  pounds. 

Indeed,  imperfectly  as  this  rule  has  been  understood, 
the  greatest  aggregate  of  gifts  has  come  from  those 
of  more  limited  means.  Never  did  charities  more 
abound  than  in  the  primitive  ages  ;  never  did  evan- 
gelizing go  forward  Mdth  greater  rapidity  and  power  : 
yet,  "  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble  Avere  called."     It  was  the 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  43 

gifts  of  the  humbler  classes,  flowdng  in  countless 
minuter  rills,  which  cut  the  channels  to  convey  the 
riches  of  salvation  over  the  civilized  world.  That 
broad  and  fertilizing  shower  that  in  the  space  of  one 
generation  made  the  wilderness  bud  and  blossom  as 
the  rose,  was  composed  of  suigle  drops.  And  so  is 
every  other  shower.  He  who  is  the  Father  of  the 
rain,  and  who  begets  the  drops  of  the  dew,  finds  it 
not  beneath  him  to  produce  the  single  drops  and  the 
smallest  drops,  without  which  there  can  be  no  show- 
ers. Sometimes  when  the  ground,  under  a  scorch- 
ing sun,  is  opening  the  seams  on  its  bosom,  implor- 
ing from  heaven  the  mercy  of  a  shower,  a  thin  cloud 
comes  over,  dispensing  a  large  drop  here  and  there — 
a  fair  similitude  of  what  the  work  of  charity,  confined 
to  the  rich,  would  be.  The  drops  are  large  and  gen- 
erous in  themselves ;  but  they  are  too  few,  and  do 
but  mock  the  distress.  It  is  the  constant  distilling 
of  the  small  rain  by  which  God  gladdens  the  earth. 

And  this  law  of  charity  lays  itself  on  men  in  all 
varieties  of  condition,  with  an  admirable  equality 
of  pressure.  It  requires  each  to  give  accordiiig 
to  his  means,  and  according  to  his  own  judgment, 
formed  ivith  an  enlightened  conscience  and  a  be- 
nevolent heart.  It  puts  into  the  hands  of  each  one 
a  scale  of  duties,  ascending  and  descending  with 
the  increase  or  decrease  of  his  means.  The  poor 
man  is  expected  to  "  labor,  working  with  his  hands, 
that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth." 


44  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

If  this  rule  presses  heavily  anywhere,  it  is  on 
those  who  have  difficulty  in  meeting  their  urgent 
wants  from,  week  to  week.  But  even  they  could 
make  a  cent  a  week  sacred  to  the  cause  of  benev- 
olence, without  any  sensible  increase  of  their  bur- 
dens ;  and  that  for  them  might  answer  all  the  ends 
of  the  requirement,  and  make  them  equal  co-part- 
ners in  the  soul-enriching  and  world-enriching  com- 
merce of  benevolence.  But  to  an  amount  lesser 
or  larger,  each  is  bound  to  form  the  habit  of  giving 
a  portion  of  his  income — to  act  every  week  on  the 
question  of  apportioning  his  gifts  to  his  income. 
Among  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath,  comes  that  of  di- 
viding off  a  portion  for  alms.  And  this  is  a  duty  no 
more  to  be  forgotten  than  that  of  prayer.  The  act 
involves  an  exercise  of  conscience  and  of  heart — of 
love  to  God  and  man,  in  giving  back  a  portion  of 
God's  gifts.  The  Sabbath's  sun  invites  you  anew 
to  settle  the  question,  how  much  you  ought  to  deny 
yourself  for  Him  who  gave  his  life  for  your  ransom. 

The  flexibility  of  this  rule  is  one  of  its  advantages. 
It  hench  in  perfect  adjustment  to  each  one's,  circum- 
stances, and  to  all  changes  of  circumstances.  It  does 
not  require,  that  one  shall,  at  the  beginning  of  a  year, 
commit  himself  to  give  so  much  for  the  year,  not 
knowing  whether  his  present  ability  will  continue 
through  the  year,  or  whether  it  may  not  be  increased  ; 
he  may  determine  on  the  proportion,  or  percentage 
of  income  which  he  will  contribute,  and  that,  if  his 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  45 

income  shall  exceed  a  certain  sum,  he  will  give  a 
larger  percentage,  "  as  God  shall  prosper  liim."  It 
does  not  require  each  one  to  give  just  so  great  a 
proportion  of  his  income ;  but  it  makes  each  one 
to  judge  for  himself,  in  view  of  all  his  circum- 
stances. There  may  be  circumstances  which  would 
require  one  to  give  twice  the  percentage  of  his 
income  which  another  gives.  One  may  be  under 
obligations  to  creditors,  and  bound  to  be  just  before 
he  is  generous  ;  while  the  other,  with  the  same  in- 
come, is  free  from  debt — though  the  man  who  early 
adopts  and  adheres  to  the  scripture  rule,  will  find 
it  operating  as  a  powerful  dissuasive  from  contract- 
ing needless  debts.  There  are  a  thousand  other  cir- 
cumstances which  may  vary  the  proportion  that 
different  persons  ought  to  give  :  and  these  are  wise- 
ly committed  to  be  judged  of  by  each  one's  own 
conscience. 

There  is  still  another  important  point  of  instruc- 
tion in  this  text :  "  That  there  be  no  gatherings  ivheyi 
X  come.''  Tliis  detects  a  capital  error  in  our  present 
policy  of  benevolence ;  in  that  we  are  wont  to  wait 
to  be  lashed  up  to  our  duty  by  the  periodical  visits 
of  the  agents  of  the  several  benevolent  societies. 
Paul  was  operating  as  an  agent  for  gathering  funds 
to  relieve  the  distress  of  Christians  at  Jerusalem. 
But  he  did  not  tell  the  Corinthians,  Wait  till  I  come 
and  lay  before  you  the  thrilling  details  of  that  dis- 
tress, and  by  dint  of  eloquent  appeals,  move  you  to 


46  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

an  amount  of  donations  which  you  would  not  other- 
wise reach.  He  placed  no  reliance  on  such  means. 
He  preferred  that  all  should  be  done  without  a  word 
from  him.  He  would  have  every  dollar  that  was  to 
be  given,  actually  in  the  treasury  before  he  came, 
"  that  there  be  no  gatherings  when  I  come."  This 
uncovers  a  grand  feature  in  the  divine  plan,  and  it 
may  show  us  the  error  in  our  policy  which  makes  it 
so  hard  to  bring  the  churches  up  to  this  duty.  We 
begin  at  the  wrong  end.  We  make  the  great  reason 
why  we^hould  give  to  be,  that  somebody  will  suffer 
if  we  do  not.  And  we  depend  on  our  agents  to  set 
forth  that  suffering,  with  an  energy  of  eloquence 
which  those  only  can  command  who  give  themselves 
wholly  to  a  single  branch  of  the  work.  And  the  re- 
sult is,  that  the  main  spring  appointed  to  move  the 
soul  to  this  work,  is  left  untouched.  The  animal 
passions  and  natural  sympathies  are  quickened,  the 
understanding  is  convinced  of  the  fitness  of  the  work, 
and  the  justice  of  its  claims  upon  us ;  in  a  second- 
ary sense  the  religious  affections  are  enlisted  ;  but  the 
whole  energy  of  the  heart  is  not  roused,  because  we 
do  not  place  the  main  reliance  on  the  main  motives. 
We  wait  for  Paul  to  come  first,  and  tell  us  all  about 
the  sufferings  of  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem  ;  ex- 
pecting by  that  communication  of  intelligence,  to  be 
led  into  the  great  and  moving  inducements  to  give. 

But  Paul  just  reversed  this  process.     He  relied  on 
the  intelligence  of  higher  and  more  moving  facts, 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-GIVING.  47 

M'liicli  had  already  been  communicated  to  them. 
He  reminded  them  of  their  obhgations  to  Christ,  who 
had  given  himself  for  them — of  the  fact  that  they  haa 
already  "  given  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord,"  which 
gift  involved  all  the  donations  that  were  needed  from 
them ;  he  reminded  the^ji  that  he  was  proving  the 
sincerity  of  their  love — that  he  was  seeking  the  cul- 
tivation in  them  of  one  of  the  parent  graces — that 
all  their  supplies  came  from  God,  who  would  cause 
them  to  reap  bountifully  from  a  bountiful  sowing — 
and  that  the  great  end  which  he  sought,  was  the  en- 
riching of  their  souls  "  to  all  bountifulness.'"  These 
were  the  motives  on  which  he  relied.  His  great  care 
was,  not  to  stir  their  sympathies  in  view  of  the  dis- 
tresses of  the  needy,  but  to  make  those  distresses 
an  occasion  of  their  exercising  one  of  the  Christian 
graces.  And  this  he  did  by  reminding  them  of  their 
relations  to  God  and  Christ.  His  argument  was 
purely  evangelical — made  out  of  the  prime  elements 
of  the  gospel.  He  was  thus  saved  the  necessity  of 
descending  to  lower  themes.  He  put  the  Corinthi- 
ans upon  the  formation  of  habits  of  giving  constantly 
and  from  principle,  and  so  secured  the  gifts  in  actual 
preparation,  when  call  should  be  made  for  them. 

Now,  so  far  as  our  present  system  has  departed 
from  this  principle,  we  shall  sooner  or  later  be  com- 
pelled to  retrace  our  steps.  There  has  long  been 
with  many,  a  desire  to  save  the  necessity  of  employ- 
ing agents  in  the  collection  of  funds  ;  and  yet,  there 


48  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

has  been  a  prevalent  conviction,  that  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  churches,  they  could  not  be  safely 
dispensed  with.  Most  experiments  of  dispensing  with 
them  have  resulted  unfavorably.  And  it  is  plain, 
that  any  change  of  the  temper  and  habits  of  the  pub- 
lic mind,  that  will  warrant  (^r  dispensing  with  them, 
muse  have  a  gradual  introduction.  If  we  are  not 
mistaken,  that  change,  so  much  desired  by  all — and 
by  none  more  than  by  our  most  efficient  agents — 
can  be  secured  by  the  restoration  of  this  rule  of 
alms-giving,  and  by  our  ministry  returning  to  the 
scriptural  method  of  inculcating  the  duty.  If  a 
display  of  facts  and  statistics,  and  the  communica- 
tion of  intelligence  respecting  the  particular  charity 
for  which  the  agent  pleads,  is  to  be  the  great  lever 
to  lift  the  church  up  to  an  apprehension  of  its  duty, 
then  we  shall  ever  want  agents  to  do  the  work. 
But  if  the  more  excellent  way  be  found  to  be,  to 
bring  the  obligations  to  bear  on  Christian  hearts  first 
and  mainly  for  their  own  sanctification,  then  the 
regular  ministry  will  be  the  best  of  all  agencies 
And  while  we  find  it  necessary  to  employ  agents, 
they  will  find  it  for  their  advantage  to  take  a  stand- 
point nearer  the  heart  and  centre  of  the  gospel,  and 
make  less  reliance  on  their  facts,  statistics,  and  pa- 
thetic appeals.  The  nearer  they  come  to  the  plan 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles  in  this  matter,  the  more 
efTective  will  be  their  command  over  the  hearts  of 
their  hearers.     Their  main  endeavor  should  be  to  dig 


PERIODICAL  ALMS-SIVING.  49 

I  reader  and  deeper  fountains  of  benevolence  in  the 
heart  of  the  church,  and  not  to  eke  out  the  largest 
possible  stream  from  the  shallow  fountains  that  now 
exist. 

There  is  then  great  wisdom  in  that  single  stroke 
of  the  inspired  pen,  "  tliat  there  be  no  gatherings 
ivhe7i  I  come''  It  tells  us,  that  our  gatherings  have 
been  so  meagre,  because  not  before  prepared  in  hab- 
its of  giving,  and  in  affections  of  the  soul  previously 
cultivated  under  the  application  of  motives  more 
purely  evangelical.  And  it  reveals  a  capital  error 
in  our  present  mode  of  action,  and  shows  the  remedy 
for  existing  deficiencies.  Let  the  work  of  charity  be 
taken  up,  like  that  of  repentance,  to  be  done  because 
it  is  right,  because  the  wants  of  the  soul  require  it, 
because  it  is  due  from  us  as  homage  to  God,  and  in 
gratitude  to  Christ.  Let  the  ministry  urge  it  on 
these  grounds  mainly,  and  let  the  great  themes  of 
redemption  come  to  bear  on  the  heart  in  a  way  to 
enlarge  its  fountains  of  benevolent  feeling,  and  the 
result  will  be  most  happy. 

Thus  have  we  endeavored  to  give  the  spirit  of 
Paul's  injunction,  to  engage  in  alms-giving  every  Sab- 
bath. In  this  we  show  a  definite  rule,  formed  by 
divine  wisdom,  binding  by  divine  authority,  requiring 
us  to  sustain  a  constant  habit  of  giving  more  or  less 
according  to  our  means,  and  independently  of  particu- 
lar calls  ;  and  so  as  to  be  beforehand,  and  ready  for 
them  when  they  come.     This  rule  we  propound  to 

Law  of  Benef.  4 


50  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

every  one,  as  claiming  his  obedience.  It  is  as  defi- 
nite and  authentic  as  any  of  the  rules  by  which  the 
revenues  of  the  Hebrew  church  were  gathered. 

But  you  will  perhaps  plead,  that  it  has  become 
obsolete ;  and  say,  that  it  has  for  many  centuries 
been  unknown  to  the  Christian  world.  And  so  have 
many  other  things,  which  are  as  clear  as  the  sun 
when  attention  is  effectually  turned  to  them,  been 
unknown  to  the  Christian  world.  The  great  duty 
of  evangelizing  the  world,  which  is  in  some  sense 
the  sum  of  all  duties,  has,  till  within  a  short  time, 
been  buried  from  the  sight  of  the  church.  The  com- 
mand to  "go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature,"  stood  plainly  forth  on  the 
inspired  page.  It  was  "read  and  conned  by  rote" 
among  the  lessons  of  childhood.  It  was  a  theme  for 
the  pulpit  and  the  commentary.  But  it  was  but 
yesterday  when  its  true  meaning,  simple  as  it  is, 
began  first  in  modern  times  to  flame  forth,  and 
awake  the  hearts  of  a  slumbering  church.  And  it 
is  nothing  more  strange,  that  this  other  command, 
written  by  an  apostle,  clear  as  a  sunbeam,  has  slum- 
bered so  long. 

Facts  compel  us  to  open  our  Bibles  with  the  im- 
pression, that  the  church  is  committing  some  great 
error  somcAvhere,  in  her  practical  sense  of  her  duty, 
as  to  furnishing  the  means  of  evangelizing.  There 
must  be  something  out  of  joint.  Some  principle  to 
which  God  has  committed  a  moving  power,  is  dis- 


A  MEANS   OF   GRACE.  51 

located  and  bereft  of  its  power.  And  previous  to 
examination,  who  can  say  that  the  oversight  has 
not  been  committed  on  this  very  page?  The  lan- 
guage is  plain,  binding  every  one  to  make  alms-giv- 
ing a  matter  of  business,  of  habit,  and  part  of  his 
Sabbath  work.  And  the  fact  that  all  Christians 
have  so  strangely  overlooked  this  duty,  is  by  no 
means  a  solitary  fact.  Nor  can  the  united  vote  or 
non-user  of  all  Christendom,  vacate  such  a  Christian 
duty.  Remembering  what  a  new  impulse  was  re- 
ceived when  the  church  began  to  recover  the  mean- 
ing of  the  command  to  evangelize  the  world,  let  us 
seek  to  recover  the  force  of  the  commiand  which  binds 
us  to  furnish  the  means  of  that  evangelizing. 

Such  is  the  law  of  the  New  Testament,  binding 
us  to  interweave  with  our  Sabbath-keeping,  a  con- 
stant habit  of  consecrating  to  God  a  portion  of  our 
means  of  living.  We  pass  now  to  some  reasons  for 
a  compliance  with  this  law. 

V.   REASONS  FOR   COMPLIANCE   WITH  THE 
LAW. 

1.    IT   IS  ONE  or   THE  MOST   IMPORTANT  MEANS  OF  GRACE. 

This  we  place  first  in  order,  because  it  is  the  first 
in  importance.  We  have  shown,  that  all  other  ends 
of  alms-giving  terminate  in  this  ;  and  that  the  duty, 
in  Scripture,  is  enforced  chiefly  on  the  ground  of  its 
being  a  means  of  sanctification  to  the  heart  of  the 
giver      We  have  shown,  that  it  is  indispensable  to 


52  LAW   OF   BENEFICE^fCE. 

the  growth  of  Christian  character,  that  Christian  be- 
neficence have  exercise  ;  that  it  has  been  appointed 
that  we  shall  have  the  poor  with  us  always,  as  the 
means  of  exercising  us  in  those  habits  which  will 
promote  us  to  true  riches.  If  God's  poor  suffer,  or  if 
God's  cause  suffer,  it  is  to  give  scope  for  cultivating 
the  graces  of  those  who  exercise  compassion.  So 
when  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem  were  in  distress, 
and  claiming  the  compassion  of  gentile  Christians, 
the  apostles  were  with  divine  skill  making  their  suf- 
ferings an  occasion  of  growth  in  grace  to  others. 

See  how  Paul  uses  the  occasion  with  the  Corinthi- 
ans :  "  Therefore  as  ye  abound  in  every  thing,  in  faith, 
and  utterance,  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  diligence, 
and  in  your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this 
grace  also''  Here,  this  grace,  which  has  exercise  in 
alms,  is  set  into  one  and  the  same  family  with  faith, 
love,  and  Christian  diligence.  And  the  same  rea- 
sons why  we  should  abound  in  one,  are  made  good 
reasons  why  we  should  abound  in  the  other.  This 
branch  of  benevolence  is  here  recognized  as  a  grace. 
And  what  is  a  grace,  but  one  of  those  qualities  of 
mind,  gratuitously  imparted  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in 
regeneration,  and  put  forward  in  sanctification — one 
of  those  qualities  which  make  out  the  Christian 
character  ?  It  is  one  of  a  sisterhood  that  is  never 
separated  from  the  rest.  Those  who  think  that  they 
can  be  good  Christians,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with 
jharities — those  who  abound  in  verbal  faith  and  or- 


A  MEANS   OF   GRACE.  53 

thodoxy,  and  in  fluent  prayers,  while  they  are  deaf 
to  all  calls  to  give  for  the  love  of  Christ,  are  strangers 
to  the  power  of  godliness.  The  Spirit  of  God  never 
committed  such  an  oversight,  as  to  regenerate  a  soul 
and  then  leave  it  under  the  power  of  covetousness 
complete.  The  product  of  the  new  birth  is  a  new 
man,  with  all  the  members  of  a  man  developed  ;  and 
not  one  mutilated  and  wanting  in  this  or  that  limb. 
Every  grace  of  the  Spirit  has  a  proportionate,  though 
it  may  be  a  feeble  development.  And  it  would  be 
no  more  absurd  to  speak  of  a  Christian  without  faith, 
than  of  a  Christian  without  beneficence.  A  Chris- 
tian infidel  is  no  more  a  contradiction  in  terms,  than 
a  Christian  without  charity. 

True  and  healthy  piety  involves  in  itself  an  ad- 
vance of  the  several  graces  in  fit  proportions,  as  the 
growth  of  the  body  advances  in  all  its  several  limbs. 
And  to  say  that  such  a  one  is  an  earnest  Christian  in 
every  thing  else,  but  that  he  will  give  nothing  and 
sacrifice  nothing  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  is  an  abuse 
of  language.  Of  such  a  one  the  Scripture  says,  "  How 
dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?"  "When  we  see 
large  developments  of  Christian  character  in  other 
respects,  connected  with  small  developments  of  be- 
nevolence, the  large  must  be  taken  with  some  allow- 
ance— keeping  good  the  principle,  that  as  ye  abound 
in  the  other,  ye  will  "abound  in  this  grace  also." 

This  grace  has  its  root  in  our  self-consecration  to 
God.     For  the  apostle  in  the  same  connection,  en- 


54  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

forcing  this  grace  from  the  example  of  liberality  in 
the  churches  of  Macedonia,  says,  they  "  first  gave 
their  own  selves  to  the  Lord,  and  to  us  by  the  will 
of  God."  Here  is  the  beginning  of  all  charity.  The 
man  ceasing  to  live  to  himself,  and  beginning  to  live 
for  God,  asks  himself,  not  how  shall  I  most  success- 
fully rear  a  separate  and  selfish  interest ;  but  how 
shall  I  best  employ  my  means,  great  or  small,  tow- 
ards the  true  end  for  which  I  live  ?  He  has  in  his 
soul  a  propensity  to  acts  of  Christian  generosity  ; 
and  this  propensity  is  the  grace  that  is  to  be  culti- 
vated in  harmony  with  the  rest. 

This  propensity  has  its  main  impulse  in  the  love 
of  Christ.  As  Paul  intimates  in  the  same  connec- 
tion, it  "  knows  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  became 
poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich." 
In  every  gift,  the  Christian,  acting  as  a  rational  be- 
ing, has  a  reason  for  his  act.  And  though  he  may 
not  have  analyzed  his  feelings,  so  as  to  be  con- 
scious of  it,  his  chief  motive  is,  that  he  acts  in  har- 
mony with  the  will  and  benevolent  design  of  the 
Saviour,  who  embraced  poverty  to  confer  on  the  re- 
deemed the  riches  of  heaven.  The  losS  which  he  is 
to  incur  by  his  gift,  reminds  him  of  the  amazing  loss 
by  which  Christ  bestowed  on  him  an  unspeakable 
gift.  When  his  selfishness  begins  to  rally,  and  he  is 
half  resolved  to  withhold  his  reasonable  share  in  any 
good  work,  the  thought  comes  back,  that  He  who 


A  MEANS  OF  GRACE.  55 

was  rich  in  all  the  wealth  of  heaven,  emptied  him- 
self of  all,  and  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  that 
he  might  hereafter  have  a  house  of  many  mansions 
to  open,  and  an  inheritance  incorruptible  to  make 
over  to  him.  Seeing  what  Christ  has  done  and  lost 
for  him,  to  confer  the  wealth  of  the  eternal  God  as  a 
free  gift,  and  seeing  that  all  he  demands  in  return  is 
the  natural  response  of  a  grateful  heart,  he  becomes 
ashamed  of  his  best  gifts,  and  says, 

"Were  the  whole  reahn  of  nature  mine, 

That  were  a  present  far  too  small ; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all," 

If  such  a  thing  could  be,  as  a  redeemed  sinner  in- 
flamed with  the  love  of  Christ,  and  now  and  then 
lifted  to  rapturous  elevations  and  well-nigh  mingling 
with  the  white-robed  harpers  before  the  throne,  in. 
that  song,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb,"  and  yet  this  same 
redeemed  sinner  with  a  heart  of  stone  against  every 
appeal  to  benevolent  feeling,  he  would  be  a  monster 
for  which  we  have  no  name- 
Thus  the  same  motives  which  actuate  every  other 
grace,  are  the  motives  to  this ;  and  these  may  all  be 
reduced  to  one,  the  love  of  Christ  constraining  us. 
It  is  as  important  that  this  love  should  have  ex- 
pression in  this  form,  as  in  other  appropriate  forms. 
And  this  grace,  like  the  rest,  grows  by  exercise — by 
bringing  the  motives  to  bear,  and  calling  it  into  fre- 
quent action.     That  the  love  of  God  may  be  called 


56  I'AW  OF   BENEFICENCE. 

forth  and  cultivated  to  be  a  strong  and  permanent 
principle  of  character,  it  is  made  our  duty  to  be  much 
in  acts  of  prayer  and  communion  with  him.  So  also, 
that  our  benevolent  affections  may  have  strength,  it 
is  made  our  duty  to  hold  ourselves  to  constant  rep- 
etitions of  benevolent  acts.  For  this  reason,  divine 
wisdom  has  appointed  that  each  Christian  shall  en- 
ter upon  a  series  of  such  acts,  and  hold  himself  to 
them  while  the  weeks  and  years  go  round,  that  he 
may  bring  to  bear  upon  his  soul  a  divinely  construct- 
ed mechanism,  for  its  gradual  transformation  into 
the  divine  image.  You  have  then  the  great  reason 
for  this  rule  of  habitual  and  systematic  charity,  in 
that  it  is  the  will  of  God  for  your  sanctification — in 
that  it  is  among  the  most  important  means  of  grace. 

And  that  it  may  still  further  appear  to  be  such, 
let  us  contemplate  it  in  the  opposite  view — in  the 
antagonism  which  it  presents  to  the  native  covetous- 
ness  of  the  heart.  That  which  most  effectually  pro- 
motes our  benevolent  affections,  best  counterworks 
our  avarice  ;  for  our  evil  affections  are  displaced  only 
by  bringing  in  their  opposites.  And  these  habits  of 
constant  giving  are  prominent  among  the  means 
which  God  has  appointed  for  our  habitual  resistance 
to  that  love  of  the  world  which  is  idolatry,  and  that 
lawless  will  to  be  rich  which  involves  us  in  a  "  snare, 
and  in  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown 
men  in  destruction  and  perdition." 

The  purpose  to  accumulate  money  for  its  own 


A  MEANS  OF   GRACE.  57 

sake,  or  for  the  selfish  gratifications  which  it  minis- 
ters, when  once  admitted  to  rule  the  mind,  takes 
possession  and  spreads  and  fortifies  itself,  and  leaves 
no  place  in  the  heart  for  homage  to  God.  E very- 
power  of  the  soul  submits,  as  if  smitten  with  a  palsy. 
All  motions  are  excluded  that  do  not  obey  the  im 
pulse  of  this  ruling  passion  :  the  understanding  can- 
not entertain  the  thoughts  of  God,  for  it  is  tasked  to 
its  utmost  in  gainful  contrivances  ;  the  memory  is 
imbecile  as  to  all  remembrance  of  God,  for  its  main 
power  is  exhausted  upon  other  things.  The  affec- 
tions are  so  occupied  with  treasures  of  earth,  that  they 
set  no  value  on  the  pearl  of  great  price.  In  short, 
this  love  of  accumulation  is  the  easily  besetting  sin 
of  the  world,  and  one  of  the  most  dangerous  enemies 
of  our  salvation;  and  the  strategy  of  our  spiritual 
warfare  needs  to  be  specially  directed  against  it. 

Selfishness  is  the  parent  form  and  central  element 
of  all  sin  ;  and  the  love  of  ino7iey  is  one  of  the  main 
branches  of  selfishness,  "  the  root  of  all  evil ;"  and 
upon  this  "  root  of  all  evil,"  this  dangerous  enemy  of 
our  salvation,  the  enginery  of  redemption  is  made 
effectually  to  play,  in  the  formation  and  nurture 
of  habits  of  benevolence.  Aware  that  this  was  our 
great  pomt  of  danger,  Christ  said  to  them  that  "  trust 
in  riches,"  that  is,  them  that  come  under  the  power 
of  this  love  of  money,  that  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to 
go  through  a  needle's  eye,  than  for  them  to  enter 
heaven.     And  having  given  command  to  take  heed 


58  I-VW   OF   BEXEFICENCE. 

and  beware  of  this  covetousness,  he  has  also  shown 
the  way  of  resisting  it,  by  bringing  the  benevolent 
affections  into  vigorous  and  constant  play.  The 
Christian  law  of  alms-giving  he  has  made  to  give 
a  benevolent  character  and  a  sanctified  direction  to 
our  necessary  employments  for  gain. 

He  who,  out  of  a  principle  of  true  benevolence,  con- 
secrates to  a  benevolent  use  whatever  can  be  wisely 
spared  from  his  income,  and  possesses  the  rest  as 
though  he  possessed  not,  holding  it  as  God's  steward, 
does  in  fact  write  "  holiness  to  the  Lwd''  on  all  that 
he  acquires.  In  all  his  labor  of  acquisition  he  is  as 
much  actuated  by  a  benevolent  design,  as  if  he  were 
laboring  with  the  intent  to  give  every  cent  of  his 
gains  to  the  poor  ;  and  in  all  his  labors  he  is  as  much 
accepted  of  God,  and  is  doing  as  much  for  the  sanc- 
tification  of  his  own  heart,  as  if — his  own  and  his 
family's  support  being  provided  in  other  ways — he 
was  laboring  exclusively  for  God's  poor.  Accord- 
ingly the  apostle  says,  "  Let  him  that  stole,  steal  no 
more  ;  but  let  him  labor,  working  with  his  hands, 
that  he  'may  lucve  to  give  to  him  that  needetW 
Here,  it  is  not  labor  to  supply  his  wants,  or  support 
his  family ;  but  he  must  be  actuated  by  a  design  which 
looks  beyond  these,  while  it  embraces  them  both. 
The  adoption  of  this  principle  of  laying  oft' the  Lord's 
portion  from  our  income,  if  done  from  right  motives, 
changes  the  whole  direction  of  our  labor  for  gains, 
and  enables  us  to  **  do  it  heartily  as  unto  the  Lord," 


A  MEANS  OF   GRACE.  59 

to  make  his  glory  the  end  of  our  ordinary  employ- 
ment ;  and  this  inverts  the  whole  machinery  of  the 
mind,  that  had  before  labored  to  accumulate  for 
selfish  gratifications. 

Most  have  need  of  the  dihgent  pursuit  of  some 
methods  of  gain,  as  the  means  of  living.  They  are 
put  upon  constant  toil  and  care  to  keep  up  their 
supplies  ;  and  they  make  more  or  less  acquaintance 
with  anxious  solicitudes  about  the  future.  This  ex- 
perience will  operate  to  promote  inordinate  desires 
to  be  Tich  :  the  details  of  gathering  cents  and  dollars 
by  the  hardest,  for  subsistence  and  for  children's 
bread,  tend  to  form  habits  of  inordinately  desiring 
riches  ;  and  these  habits,  with  no  counteracting  force, 
would  soon  fearfully  contract  the  heart. 

Then  the  multiplicity  of  cares  which  come  upon 
one  devoted  to  worldly  accumulations,  and  the  keen 
solicitudes  employed  on  money-adventures,  are  so 
exhausting  to  the  benevolent  affections,  so  adapted 
to  fix  an  undue  value  on  money,  that  we  need,  for 
our  own  safety,  all  possible  engagements  of  mind  in 
opposite  directions.  No  apology  for  neglecting  the 
soul  is  so  much  in  use  as  that  of  the  multiplicity  of 
cares,  the  want  of  time  occasioned  by  labors  and  en- 
terprises for  gain.  Risks  must  be  run  ;  the  issue  of 
pending  adventures  must  be  anxiously  waited  ;  new 
plans  must  be  framed  ;  the  eye  must  be  out  on  all 
turns  of  times  and  shifts  in  the  currents  of  business. 
Alternations  of  hope  and  fear,  of  success  and  disaster, 


60  LAW  OF  BENEFICE.NCE. 

must  keep  the  mind  upon  a  stretch.  And  here  is  the 
occasion  for  the  action  of  some  counteracting  element ; 
for  this  is  the  reason  why  the  gospel,  preached  to 
anxious  worldlings,  is  a  precious  seed  thrown  away 
among  thorns.  The  cares  of  the  world  and  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  riches  choke  the  word  ;  they  follow  a  man 
like  his  shadow,  engrossing  his  thoughts,  absorbing  his 
soul,  even  while  his  body  is  in  the  house  of  God. 

Now  the  more  one  is  exposed  to  this  deluge  of 
cares,  all  tending  to  put  forward  the  growth  of  selfish 
affections,  the  more  he  needs  that  method  of  counter- 
action provided  in  the  divine  rule  under  consideration. 
The  mind  acting  so  much  in  one  direction,  needs  to 
.  regain  its  health  and  balance  by  much  action  in  the 
other  ;  and  God  has  interposed  to  bring  relief  to  this 
point  of  danger,  and  laid  on  us  the  duty  of  combat- 
ing our  love  of  money  by  making  sacrifices  of  money. 
In  this  way  he  engages  us  to  put  one  of  our  greatest 
enemies  to  the  torture,  and  crucify  him  till  he  dies. 
This  is  a  main  branch  of  that  great  duty  of  mortify- 
ing the  flesh  with  its  afiections  and  lusts  :  we  give 
our  love  of  money  a  new  wound  as  often  as  we  make 
a  sacrifice  in  a  gift  to  the  poor.  It  comports  with 
the  economy  of  grace,  that  our  giant  enemy  shall  not 
die  by  a  single  blow ;  his  destruction  must  be  the 
work  of  time,  of  our  whole  life ;  and  the  plan  of  war- 
fare best  suited  to  its  design,  and  to  our  natures,  is 
one  which  engages  us  to  a  constant  repetition  of 
wounds,  under  which  he  dies  by  inches. 


A  MEANS  OF   GRACE.  61 

We  have  often  seen  those  who,  when  in  compara- 
tive poverty,  loere  generous  luith  their  little,  but  who 
have  become  penurious  in  becoming  rich.  "While 
their  means  were  small,  their  outgoes  trod  close 
upon  their  incomes ;  their  habit  of  giving  was  exer- 
cised and  strengthened  in  some  proportion  to  that  of 
receiving,  and  the  passion  for  accumulating  had  not 
room  to  spread  its  roots.  But  when  the  gains  began 
sensibly  to  advance  beyond  the  outgoes,  a  habit  was 
formed  of  calculating  how  long  it  would  take  to  reach 
such  and  such  a  sum  ;  and  with  no  active  principle 
of  benevolence  proportionally  counterworking  the 
growing  passion  for  gains,  every  little  increase  served 
to  feed  the  passion,  and  every  call  for  charities  was 
resisted,  because  it  postponed  the  time  of  reaching 
the  proposed  amount  to  be  laid  in.  Aware  of  this 
principle  of  human  nature,  divine  wisdom  has  given 
the  caution,  "If  riches  increase,  set  not  your  heart 
upon  them  ;"  hinting  to  us  that  the  "  setting  of  the 
heart  upon  them"  is  a  common  result  of  increase. 

How  many  thousands  have  said  in  their  hearts,  0 
if  I  were  as  rich  as  such  a  one,  how  would  I  multiply 
the  streams  of  my  bounty ;  I  would  do  nothing 
else  than  employ  my  wealth  in  doing  good.  But  all 
such  talk  is  vain ;  the  process  of  becoming  so  rich 
would  expose  you  to  the  fiercer  heats  of  temptation, 
consuming  all  benevolent  affections.  The  process  of 
increasing  wealth,  without  the  outgoes  of  benevo- 
lence, is  a  process  of  confirming  a  feeling  of  poverty, 


62  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

a  grasping  desire  for  more,  which  Hke  the  grave  will 
be  ever  crying,  Give,  give.  A  case  has  been  known 
of  a  man  at  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten,  with  his 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  free  from  debt,  and  well 
invested,  and  yet  crying  like  a  child  in  apprehension 
of  a  possible  experience  of  poverty.  And  this  state 
of  feeling  was  induced  by  a  most  natural  process,  by 
a  mind  given  up  to  the  passion  of  accumulating,  with- 
out the  counter-process  of  distributing.  This  is  an 
invariable  result  of  human  experience  in  like  circum- 
stances, and  it  shows  the  importance  of  some  law  of 
conduct  to  keep  our  benevolent  activities  in  use.  Our 
condition  is  hke  that  of  a  leaky  vessel,  which  needs 
the  constant  labor  of  the  pump  in  throwing  out,  to 
prevent  its  being  submerged. 

This  fact  in  human  nature  should  be  well  consid- 
ered by  the  you7ig,  who  are  just  entering  upon  a 
course  of  business,  and  upon  the  formation  of  char- 
acter. Here  is  a  powerful  element  in  the  production 
of  character,  which  one  cannot  overlook  without  great 
damage  to  himself  Whether  the  young  person  re- 
gards his  happiness  and  usefulness  for  time  or  for 
eternity,  it  is  immensely  important  that  he  adopt  this 
divinely  appointed  method  of  enlarging  his  heart. 

And  the  church  as  a  whole,  and  each  professed 
Christian,  has  a  special  interest  in  this  matter,  be- 
cause covetousness  is  more  esjoecially  the  sin  of  the 
visible  church.  It  is  so,  because  it  is  of  such  a  nature 
that  it  can  better  conceal  itself  under  a  Christian 


A  MEANS   OF   GRACE.  63 

profession.  Spurious  conversions  more  often  consist 
of  a  change  of  the  dominion  of  one  lust  for  that  of 
another ;  and  as  long  as  the  heart  remains  unchanged, 
the  lesser  changes  must  consist  in  some  substitution 
like  this — an  outward  reformation  must  have  its  com- 
pensation in  indulgences  of  inward  lusts.  It  is  no 
easy  matter  to  be  a  drunkard,  or  profane,  or  dishon- 
est, or  licentious,  and  maintain  a  reputable  standing 
among  Christians  ;  but  one  may  indulge  his  supreme 
love  of  the  world  in  the  form  of  covetousness,  and 
yet  maintain  a  specious  semblance  of  religion,  and  a 
fair  standing  in  the  church  :  mdeed,  the  church  is 
quite  too  charitable  towards  her  uncharitable  mem- 
bers, and  that  because  her  own  standard  of  benefi- 
cence is  too  low,  and  her  own  perceptions  of  Christian 
obligation  in  this  matter  are  dim.  There  is  now  and 
then  in  human  society  what  is  called  a  'iniser — a  man 
of  large  means,  whose  selfishness  is  so  extreme,  as  to 
defeat  its  own  purpose  and  inflict  misery  on  himself. 
Such  a  one  is  held  in  general  abhorrence,  as  a  vio- 
lator of  the  primitive  law  of  society.  Living  only  for 
himself,  and  refusing  to  contribute  to  the  pleasures 
and  advantage  of  society,  he  is  by  the  common  con- 
sent of  men  degraded  to  a  lower  order  of  beings ; 
men  make  themselves  merry  at  his  expense,  and 
find  amusement  in  discourse  of  his  strange  habits. 
But  the  man  who,  under  more  decent  appearances, 
lives  wholly  to  himself  in  the  church  of  Christ,  is 
even  a  more  gross  violator  of  the  primitive  law  of 


64  LAW  OF   BENEFICENCE. 

that  society,  and  his  character  deserves  no  more  in 
dulgence.  Yet,  for  the  reasons  which  we  have  given, 
it  finds  a  degree  of  indulgence  ;  and  worldly  minds  in 
the  church  can  indulge  their  covetousness,  when  they 
could  not  other  forms  of  sin  as  gross ;  and  for  the 
same  reason,  there  are  probably  many  in  the  church 
in  supreme  devotement  to  tliis  form  of  sin,  without 
being  conscious  of  it.  Hence,  this  sin  should  be  the 
more  guarded  against  in  the  church,  by  extending 
and  confirming  those  habits  of  beneficence  that  coun- 
terwork it. 

The  grace  of  God  first  finds  us  in  love  of  the  world, 
inveterate,  and  supreme.  It  comes  "  teaching  us, 
that  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 
world."  But  its  most  efiectual  form  of  teaching  this, 
is  by  experience  and  active  resistance.  It  uses  not 
only  the  word  of  instruction,  but  the  power  of  action. 
All  must  be  wrought  into  us,  and  wrought  out  by 
us.  "We  cannot  be  put  into  the  possession  of  a  be- 
nevolent temper,  and  delivered  from  the  tyranny  of 
selfishness,  by  mere  intellectual  processes — -by  a  mere 
presentation  of  reasons  and  inducements  to  benevo- 
lence. There  is  a  work  for  the  Holy  Spirit;  and, 
under  that,  there  is  occasion  for  all  the  processes  of 
the  human  mind,  by  which  the  temper  and  habits 
are  changed.  And  in  the  gospel  law  of  alms,  every 
Christian  is  bound  to  address  himself  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  benevolent  afiections,  as  one  great  end  of 


A  MEANS   OF   GRACE.  65 

life.  Christ  made  it  the  duty  of  every  one  to  pray, 
because  his  soul  has  need  of  all  the  quickening  in- 
fluences which  prayer  attracts  ;  and  so  he  has  made 
it  the  duty  of  every  one  to  be  constantly  giving,  be- 
cause the  heart  has  need  of  all  these  acts,  for  its  own 
enlargement. 

It  is  very  possible,  however,  that  some  have  never 
felt  any  want  of  the  aid  of  such  habits,  and  have 
never  thought  of  giving  as  a  means  of  crucifying  the 
old  man — -just  as  many  a  prayerless  man  has  never 
felt  any  need  of  those  influences  of  the  divine  life 
which  the  good  man  secures  by  prayer.  Of  course, 
they  have  nothing  in  their  own  experience  by  which 
they  can  appreciate  this  Christian  law  of  alms.  They 
have  no  conflicts  with  the  power  of  selfishness, 
because  they  have  always  been  submissive  to  it. 
Such,  however,  would  soon  discover  what  is  want- 
ing, should  they  set  this  Christian  rule  before  them, 
and  endeavor  to  adopt  it  as  the  law  of  their  conduct. 
Ye  who  have  no  need  to  cultivate  a  more  benevo- 
lent heart,  will  of  course  find  no  reluctance  to  put  in 
practice  a  rule  of  benevolence  so  reasonable.  And 
if  ye  are  reluctant,  that  reluctance  is  proof  of  your 
selfishness,  and  your  need  to  enter  a  school  of  vigor- 
ous discipline.  This  reluctance  is  proof  that  you 
have  need  to  exercise  your  heart  to  self-denials  as 
constantly  as  the  rule  contemplates. 


Law  ot  Beuef. 


66  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

2.    THIS    SYSTEM    OF    BENEVOLENCE    TENDS    TO    THRIFT. 

Another  reason  why  each  one  should  enter  upon 
these  habits  of  systematic  beneficence  is,  that  God  so 
attaches  his  blessing  to  them,  that  even  the  temporal 
interests  of  the  giver  are  usuallij  'promoted  by  them. 
Out  of  the  gifts  of  God  to  us,  we  bestow  our  gifts ; 
and  out  of  our  gifts  he  brings  the  elements  of  our 
increase.  There  is  here  a  circulation  not  unlike  to 
that  between  the  clouds  and  the  earth  watered  by 
them.  Suppose  the  clouds  should  withhold  their 
gifts,  and  all  the  waters  in  the  bottles  of  heaven 
should  be  hoarded  there,  for  fear  of  exhaustion  ;  the 
earth  would  soon  become  parched,  and  its  lakes  and 
rivers  dry,  and  the  supplies  of  rising  vapor  to  fill  the 
clouds  would  be  diminished.  But  let  the  clouds 
freely  dispense  their  treasures,  and  these  treasures 
will  have  prompt  returns. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  principle  that  benevolence 
tends  to  thrift,  let  us  now  leave  out  of  view  every 
other  purpose,  and  treat  of  the  habit  of  giving  simply 
as  a  means  of  benefi.ting  ourselves.  The  Scriptures 
speak  abundantly  of  this  result.  Take  one  example 
out  of  many,  and  one  wherein  temporal  and  spiritual 
benefit  are  intimately  blended  in  the  result.  "  He 
that  soweth  sparingly,  shall  reap  also  sparingly ;  and 
he  that  soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  also  bountifully. 
Every  man,  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his  heart, 
so  let  him  give,  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity,  for 


TENDS  TO  THRIFT.  67 

the  Lord  loveth  the  cheerful  giver ;  and  God  is  able 
to  make  all  grace  abound  towards  you,  that  ye 
always,  having  all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  may 
abound  in  every  good  work."  The  increase  here 
promised  is  "all  sufficiency  in  all  things,"  to  enable 
us  to  "abound  in  every  good  work."  And  as  the 
giving  of  alms  is  one  of  the  good  works,  a  supply  of 
the  means  for  future  gifts  must  here  be  included 
with  the  increase  of  grace  which  is  promised.  The 
imagery  holds  forth  the  idea  of  a  rich  soil,  well  pre- 
pared, and  which  requires  only  a  generous  dispensing 
of  seed,  in  the  shape  of  alms,  to  produce  abundant 
increase  of  the  seed  sown.  It  tells  us,  that  if  we 
withhold  the  seed,  we  shall  lose  the  advantage  of  a 
richly  prepared  soil ;  and  if  we  dispense  with  a  liberal 
hand,  we  shall  have  proportionately  liberal  returns. 
In  other  words,  a  wise  and  generous  use  of  our  prop- 
erty to  charitable  ends  is,  like  the  sowing  of  seed,  a 
means  of  enriching  ourselves,  both  spiritually  and 
temporally. 

That  is,  indeed,  a  narrow  view  which  sees  a  re- 
ward in  nothing  but  what  terminates  on  ourselves. 
"None  of  us  liveth  to  himself."  The  Christian 
blends  his  spiritual  prosperity  with  that  of  the  cause 
of  his  Redeemer.  If  he  gives  his  money  to  carry 
and  deposit  the  seed  of  the  word  in  the  most  distant 
climes,  and  afterwards  finds  that  that  seed  is  bear- 
ing fruit  sixty  or  a  hundred-fold,  he  has  his  reward — 
that  increase  is  a  rich  compensation  for  his  money. 


68  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

His  own  soul  is  enriched,  both  by  sowing  the  seed 
and  reaping  the  harvest.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
encouraging  views  of  this  work.  By  "  dispersing 
abroad"  and  "giving  to  the  poor,"  we  "sow  beside 
all  waters,"  and  deposit  seeds  which  God  watches 
over  with  delight.  We  have  a  wide  and  hopeful 
field  on  which  to  plant.  And  if  the  field  be  over- 
grown with  briars  and  thorns,  such  agencies,  under 
the  divine  economy,  go  along  with  the  seed — such  a 
powerful  hand  of  a  divine  Cultivator  prepares  for  it 
a  place,  that  it  will  not  return  void. 

"He  that  goeth  forth  bearing  precious  seed,"  goes 
in  the  strength  of  all  the  agencies  that,  in  the  econo- 
my of  salvation,  precede  and  enforce  the  word  dis- 
pensed. And  he  that  gives  his  alms  to  give  wings 
to  gospel  truth,  mingles  his  agencies  with  those  of 
the  Redeemer,  labors  in  an  enterprise  which  fills  the 
heart  of  a  God  of  mercy,  which  commands  the  minis- 
try of  angels,  and  which  is  sure  to  give  glorious 
returns  to  all  benevolent  action.  He  casts  his  seed 
on  a  field  where  showers  of  grace  are  to  fall,  and 
over  which  the  life-giving  breath  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
like  the  winds  of  heaven,  is  to  sweep.  This  is  doing 
more  than  to  give  impulse  to  the  most  powerful 
human  agencies.  It  is  touching  the  springs  of  divine 
power,  and  securing  results  proportionate  to  that 
power.  We  also  enter  into  the  advantage  of  the 
precious  nature  of  the  seed  sown.  It  is  the  living 
word  of  the  living  God,   "the  incorruptible  seed, 


TENDS  TO  THRIFT.  69 

which  hveth  and  abideth  for  ever,"  which  Hves  by 
an  ever-expansive  hfe,  shooting  forth  new  roots  and 
branches,  and  yielding  seed  for  new  plantings,  long 
after  the  hand  that  planted  is  laid  in  the  grave. 

By  contributing  to  convey  the  gospel  into  contact 
with  the  minds  of  men,  whether  through  the  pulpit 
or  press,  we  are  sowing  seeds  for  a  glorious  harvest. 
We  are  applying  heaven's  remedy  to  the  deadly 
wounds  of  a  world.  True,  some  of  the  seed  will  be 
devoured  by  the  fowls,  some  will  be  choked  with 
thorns,  and  yet,  in  the  general  result,  the  sower  will 
not  be  disappointed.  The  purpose  and  promise  of 
God  insures  him.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  "As  the  rain 
Cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and  re- 
turneth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the  earth  and 
maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give 
seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater,  so  shall 
my  word  be,  that  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth.  It 
shall  not  return  unto  me  void.  But  it  shall  accom- 
plish that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the 
thing  whereto  I  sent  it."  God  has  "  magnified  his 
word  above  all  his  name."  The  more  it  has  been 
dishonored  hitherto,  by  a  world's  rejecting  it,  the 
more  is  he  pledged  to  magnify  and  vindicate  it  in 
time  to  come.  And  among  the  great  events  yet  to 
transpire  upon  the  face  of  this  world,  no  event,  or 
series  of  events,  will  compare  with  the  lustre  of  that 
in  which  God  will  bring  forth  to  view  the  power  and 
glory  of  his  own  truth. 


70  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

Into  this  work  we  enter  when  we  contribute  for 
the  sowing  of  this  seed.  We  not  only  cultivate  our 
own  benevolence,  in  acts  of  giving,  but  in  the  par- 
ticipation of  the  hopes,  and  prayers,  and  efforts  for 
a  world's  conversion,  we  are  holding  our  hearts  in 
communion  with  God,  and  enriching  them  with  all 
divine  communications. 

But,  in  a  narrower  sense,  these  habits  of  giving 
tend  to  thrift,  and  promote  our  temporal  interests 
Jacob,  in  that  crisis  of  his  history  when  he  was 
thrown  out  from  his  father's  house,  empty  upon  the 
world,  with  his  whole  fortune  to  make,  made  a  vow, 
responsive  to  the  heavenly  vision  which  he  had  at 
Bethel,  that  of  all  that  God  should  give  him  he 
would  give  a  tenth.  He  adopted  essentially  the 
same  rule  which  we  here  recommend — a  rule  which 
is  within  the  reach  of  all.  And  how  he  prospered 
under  it  we  are  well  informed.  And,  in  the  general 
result,  it  will  be  found  that  men  will  accumulate 
property  faster  under  the  rule  of  habitually  giving 
a  due  proportion  of  their  income,  than  they  would 
without  it.  Nor  does  the  fact  that  men  often  come 
into  possession  of  property  in  disregard  of  this  rule, 
show  the  contrary.  For  though  men  often  acquire 
property  without  diligence,  economy,  or  honesty,  yet 
these  virtues  tend  to  thrift.  So,  all  other  things 
being  equal,  one  may  be  said  to  be  more  sure  to 
thrive  with  habits  of  beneficence  than  without  them. 
Sometimes  the  reciprocity  between  the  incomes  and 


TENDS   TO   THRIFT.  71 

outgoes  is  so  manifest  as  to  strike  the  most  careless 
observer.  Providence  has  a  thousand  w^ays  of  sus- 
taining it. 

Habits  of  giving  favor  the  formation  of  other  habits 
that  tend  to  thrift.  This  rule  operates  as  a  law  of 
conduct  in  the  use  of  one's  income,  which  excludes 
the  waste  made  upon  many  frivolous,  not  to  say 
hurtful  gratifications.  Most  are  wont  to  spend  on 
needless  things  many  small  sums,  whose  aggregate 
is  a  large  sum.  But  he  who  taxes  his  income  to  do 
good,  soon  finds  in  doing  it  a  gratification  greater 
than  in  all  those  little  wasteful  expenditures,  and 
saves  more  than  the  amount  of  his  charities.  He 
has  a  better  estimate  of  the  value  and  use  of  mon- 
ey, and  he  feels  a  steadier  impulse  both  to  benev- 
olence and  to  a  wise  economy.  He  has  inserted 
into  his  mind  a  better  regulator,  and  so  saves  what 
without  it  he  would  have  wasted  upon  his  vices. 
And  not  only  his  economy,  but  his  industry,  and 
indeed  the  whole  sisterhood  of  thrifty  virtues,  are 
fostered  by  his  habits  of  charity.  Then  these  vir- 
tues, by  a  natural  attraction,  draw  him  into  connec- 
tions with  others  of  like  mind,  and  so  secure  him 
against  temptations  to  wasteful  expenditures. 

This  habit  of  benevolence  also  involves  a  'practi- 
cal acknowledgment  of  God  and  his  blessing  as  the 
source  of  all  thrift,  which  acknowledgment  is  a  di- 
rect means  of  securing  blessings.  Then,  as  it  is  a 
general  law  of  Providence  that  thrift  shall  follow 


72  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

diligence,  so  it  is  a  general  law  that  thrift  shall  fol- 
low benevolence.  There  is  in  this  what  may  be 
called  a  secondary  rule  of  retributions,  having  rela- 
tions to  human  society  somewhat  similar  to  those 
which  the  retributions  of  the  last  day  have  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  •  God,  when  higher  interests  do 
not  interfere,  sustains  a  providential  retribution  in 
the  secular  affairs  of  men,  that  they  may  learn  from 
others'  experience  how  to  regulate  their  own  con- 
duct. These  retributions  are  conducted  according 
to  general  laws,  which  exist  for  reasons  similar  to 
those  for  which  he  sustains  the  constancy  of  nature's 
works.  Nature  in  all  her  processes  is  unvarying, 
that  we  may  use  her  best  by  knowing  and  obeying 
her  laws,  that  we  may  know  before  we  try  it,  that 
fire  will  burn,  and  water  will  drown.  And  for  a 
like  reason,  God  maintains  a  law  that  the  benevolent 
shall  thrive.  It  is  written  in  the  book  of  his  prov- 
idences as  well  as  in  that  of  his  revelation,  "  Cast 
thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  and  thou  shalt  find  it 
after  many  days."  And  there  is  nothing  in  human 
experience  that  gainsays  it.  There  are  indeed  ex- 
ceptions. For  now  and  then  God  has  some  better 
and  higher  ends  to  answer,  which  require  him  in 
individual  cases  to  suspend  the  rule. 

That  it  is  really  a  rule  of  divine  Providence,  is 
abundantly  asserted  in  such  scriptures  as  these : 
*'  Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  the  first 
fruits  of  all  thine  increase.     So  shall  thy  barns  be 


TENDS  TO  THRIFT.  73 

filled  with  plenty,  and  thy  presses  shall  burst  out 
with  new  wine."  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet 
increaseth,  and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than 
is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  "  The  liberal 
soul  shall  be  made  fat,  and  he  that  watereth  shall 
be  watered  also  himself."  "  He  that  hath  pity  on 
the  poor,  lendeth  unto  the  Lord ;  and  that  which  he 
hath  given,  will  He  pay  him  again."  "  He  that  hath 
a  bountiful  eye  shall  be  blessed,  for  he  giveth  of  his 
bread  to  the  poor."  "  Brmg  ye  all  the  tithes  into 
the  storehouse,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  if  I 
will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour 
you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
enough  to  receive  it."  These  scriptures  have  a 
meaning,  and  the  meaning  which  they  plainly  ex- 
press, and  one  which  an  observant  eye  will  see  veri- 
fied in  human  experience.  You  hear  God  himself 
saying,  "  With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again.  Give,  and  it  shall  be  given 
unto  you ;  good  measure,  pressed  down,  shaken  to- 
gether, and  running  over."  Thus  is  the  liberality 
of  men  paid  first  in  their  own  coin,  and  then  paid 
again  in  the  coin  that  goes  current  in  heaven.  While 
bad  crops,  bad  debts,  midnight  fires,  and  the  like 
disasters  may  soon  consume  what  is  gained  by  with- 
holding more  than  is  meet. 

But  you  will  ask,  If  this  principle  have  been  in 
operation,  why  is  not  the  wealth  of  the  world  con- 
centrated in  the  hands  of  the  benevolent,  or  of  the 


74  LAW  OF   BENEFICENCE. 

church  ?  One  reason  is,  that  there  has  been  with 
professed  Christians  a  sad  want  of  habits  of  testing 
the  power  of  this  principle.  When  the  Jews  were 
under  a  bhght  and  curse  for  withholding  their  tithes, 
their  poverty  was  no  disproof  of  the  principle.  And 
the  like  to  some  extent  may  be  said  of  us.  But 
there  is  another  view.  Christianity  usually  begins 
to  work  on  the  lower  strata  of  society,  and  thenct 
works  upward,  with  a  steady  elevating  influence  on 
all.  Leaving  the  mountains  of  hoarded  wealth,  she 
comes  ta  preside  over  the  countless  agencies  that 
work  for  the  elevation  of  the  humbler  classes.  Her 
influence  in  this  particular  may  be  best  seen  as 
exerted  on  a  whole  community.  For  instance,  the 
foundations  of  New  England  were  laid  by  self-sacri- 
ficing men,  whose  "  deep  poverty  abounded  to  the 
riches  of  their  liberality."  With  smallest  ability, 
they  secured  the  best  means  of  mental  and  spirit- 
ual culture  then  had  in  all  the  world.  And  they 
did  it  in  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  honor  of  God. 
And  all  this  was  done  in  the  rigors  of  a  life  in  a 
newly  opened  forest.  The  gifts  of  gold  and  precious 
stones  which  they  contributed  to  adorn  their  taber- 
nacle of  God,  were  gifts  made  while  dwelling  in  the 
wilderness.  And  to  that  wise  generosity  every  sub- 
sequent year  has  been  bringing  in  returns  in  secular 
advantages.  The  present  vigor  of  the  New  Eng- 
land character,  and  all  that  it  has  achieved  for  this 
country  and  the  world,  is  traceable  to  that  liberality. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THIS  SYSTEM.  75 

And  there  are  luminous  illustrations  of  our  princi- 
ple wherever  the  descendants  of  the  pilgrims  are 
found. 

But  if  any  doubt  the  soundness  of  the  principle, 
they  have  an  easy  and  satisfactory  way  of  resolving 
their  doubts.  Let  them  try  it.  Let  them  begin  by 
giving  a  due  proportion  of  their  income  for  charities, 
and  observing  the  result.  There  would  be  less  of 
doubt  if  there  were  more  experiments.  But  there 
have  been  some  examples  of  those  who,  in  some 
good  degree,  have  lived  not  to  themselves.  Most  of 
these,  occupying  humbler  stations,  have  been  little 
noticed ;  yet  their  record  is  on  high.  But  some 
have  stood  forth  conspicuous,  both  in  wealth  and 
liberality  ;  and  also  as  illustrations  of  the  principle, 
that  "  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  him- 
self" Andrew  Fuller  says  the  poor  people  of  Glas- 
gow used  to  say,  "  David  Dale  gives  his  money  by 
Bho'elsful,  and  God  Almighty  sho'els  it  back  again." 

3.     THE    SUPERIOR    EFFICIENCY    OF    THIS    SYSTEM. 

A  reason  for  adopting  this  rule  of  systematic  char- 
ity, which  is  only  second  to  the  main  reason,  is,  that 
it  secures  a  greater  amount  of  benefactions  than  any 
other.  It  was  evidently  appointed  by  divine  wis- 
dom, first,  because  of  its  being  best  adapted  to  cul- 
tivate a  benevolent  character,  and  secondly,  because 
best  adapted  to  increase  the  amount  given  in  charity. 
This  adaptation  is  obvious. 


76  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

It  opens  a  way  in  which  the  poor  can  contribute  a 
considerable  amount.  Indeed,  there  is  no  other  way 
for  a  large  class  of  Christians,  many  of  whom  are 
the  excellent  of  the  earth,  the  true  nobility,  to  bear 
any  considerable  part  in  the  most  excellent  of  all 
enterprises.  The  amount  which  they  can  give  at 
any  one  time,  without  the  previous  process  of  laying 
aside  a  little  now  and  a  little  then,  is  so  small,  that 
they  would  be  discouraged  from  attempting  any 
thing.  But  let  this  rule  be  adopted  in  the  church, 
and  restored  to  its  proper  place,  and  secure  a  general 
concurrence  in  it,  and  you  will  vastly  multiply  the 
hearts  and  hands  engaged  to  swell  the  general 
amount.  The  single  deposites  of  each  will  be  small ; 
but  even  the  poorest  at  the  year's  end  will  bring 
you  a  handsome  donation.  And  the  aggregate  dona- 
tions of  the  poor  will  surpass  all  previous  expecta- 
tions. By  this  remark  we  would  not  imply  that  the 
gifts  of  the  poor  are  now  entirely  withheld.  We 
have  already  remarked,  that  a  majority  of  the  ag- 
gregate of  what  is  now  given  comes  from  those  who 
do  not  rank  as  rich.  And  of  those  to  whom  the 
term  poor  most  fitly  applies,  there  are  some  who, 
taught  by  an  instinctive  benevolence  and  sagacity, 
have  adopted  the  substance  of  this  rule  as  their  only 
means  of  procuring  their  share  in  the  luxury  of  be- 
neficence ;  and  are  now  actually  laying  aside  their 
penny  at  a  time,  to  nurse  it  up  to  the  pound,  to  be 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ.     But  while  this  is 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THIS  SYSTEM.  77 

true  of  some,  the  greater  part  are  discouraged  and 
excluded,  in  our  exclusion  of  God's  appointed  rule, 
which  is  their  deed  of  partnership  in  the  enterprise. 
A  restoration  of  this  rule  would  then  bring  at  once 
a  strong  reinforcement  to  the  army  for  subduing  this 
world  to  Christ. 

But  the  reinforcements  would  come  not  alone  from 
the  poor.  Let  this  rule  be  recovered  from  oblivion, 
and  let  it  come  to  be  a  universally  admitted,  truth, 
that  every  Christian  is  bound  to  obey  it,  as  much  as 
he  is  bound  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  and  the  habits  of  a 
large  portion  of  professed  Christians  will  be  revolu- 
tionized. There  are  in  the  churches  many,  who 
seem  never  as  yet  to  have  got  the  idea  that  benefi- 
cence is  any  part  of  religion,  and  who  give  nothing 
or  next  to  nothing  for  evangelizing  the  world.  But 
let  this  rule  be  respected  as  it  ought,  and  they  will 
come  under  it,  or  seek  other  connections  than  those 
of  the  church  of  Christ. 

But  the  greatest  increase  will  be  from  the  opera- 
tion of  the  rule  on  those  who  now  sustain  the  bur- 
den of  these  enterprises.  Let  them  come  under  a 
regular  system,  and  from  week  to  week  set  apart  a 
portion  "as  God  has  prospered  them,"  and  they  will 
soon  find  themselves  giving  more,  with  less  of  seem- 
ing sacrifice.  They  will  come  out  at  the  year's  end 
with  much  greater  amounts  deposited  in  the  treasury 
of  the  Lord,  and  with  their  own  funds  not  lessened 
by  that  increase.     They  will  find  their  beneficence, 


78  LAW  OP  BENEFICENCE. 

as  it  has  become  a  matter  of  more  frequent  recur- 
rence, and  more  constant  business,  to  have  become 
also  a  matter  of  more  substantial  satisfaction ;  thus, 
more  will  be  done  with  more  pleasure,  and  with  more 
ability  for  doing  it. 

Here  then  is  a  method  by  which,  if  the  church  is 
willing  to  obey  a  simple  and  plain  command  of  her 
Lord,  a  vast  increase  may  be  secured  to  the  means  of 
evangelizing  the  world.  And  this  fact  pleads  with 
unlimited  power,  when,  we  reflect  to  what  rich  ac- 
count allmeans  can  now  be  turned — when  we  reflect 
that  the  whole  world  is  one  inviting  field  of  mission- 
ary labor — that  Bibles  will  be  received  and  used  as 
fast  as  they  can  be  made  and  given — ^that  preachers 
will  find  a  hearing  in  as  great  numbers  as  they  can 
be  sent — that  colporteurs  might  advantageously  be 
increased  a  hundred-fold,  and  that  Christian  presses 
might  find  employment  in  unlimited  numbers.  This 
is  the  time  to  sow  abundantly  beside  all  waters,  and 
if  there  is  any  principle  of  action,  that  can  put  us  in 
possession  of  ten-fold  the  present  incomes  of  our  evan- 
gelizing societies,  we  want  it  now. 

4.    EXAMPLE    or    THE   PRIMITIVE    CHURCH. 

The  example  of  the  primitive  church  may  instruct 
us  in  this  duty.  The  type  of  benevolence  that  ap- 
peared in  the  Pentecostal  revival,  was  nobly  sustained 
in  the  church  for  several  ages.  The  church  first 
gathered  at  Jerusalem  being  scattered  abroad,  went 


PRIMITIVE   EXAMPLE.  79 

everywhere  preaching  the  word  and  kindling  the 
fires  of  their  own  zeal  and  love  ;  and  apostles  testi- 
fied of  the  new  churches  reared  in  Gentile  nations, 
that  "  their  deep  poverty  abounded  to  the  riches  of 
their  liberality,"  and  that  they  extended  their  gifts 
even  "  beyond  their  power."  Next  to  bringing  their 
own  minds  into"^  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ, 
their  chief  care  was  the  conversion  of  others. 

The  history  of  the  first  two  centuries  of  Christi- 
anity abounds  with  remarkable  facts,  showing  with 
what  zeal  and  entireness  of  soul,  the  church  went 
into  the  work  of  converting  the  world.  Those  who 
perilled  their  lives  and  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things 
in  preaching,  were  not  the  only  ones  who  made  sac- 
rifices for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  Some  spent  all 
besides  a  bare  support  of  themselves,  to  furnish  the 
means  of  evangelizing  others  ;  those  who  had  no 
property  gave  the  avails  of  their  labor ;  and  it  is  re- 
corded of  one  man  that  he  sold  himself  as  a  slave  to 
a  heathen  family,  to  get  access  to  them  for  their  con- 
version, and  for  years  cheerfully  endured  the  labor 
and  condition  of  a  slave  till  he  succeeded  with  the 
whole  family,  and  took  his  liberty  from  the  gratitude 
of  the  converts.  The  same  person,  on  a  visit  to 
Sparta,  again  entered  himself  as  a  slave  in  the  fam- 
ily of  the  governor  of  Sparta  and  served  two  years, 
and  again  succeeded  in  his  design.  The  fires  of  such 
a  benevolence,  burning  wherever  a  company  of  Chris- 
tians was  gathered,  could  not  fail  soon  to  overspread 


80  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

the  world,  and  in  the  space  of  one  generation  most 
of  the  nations  then  known  to  the  civilized  world, 
were  more  or  less  evangelized.  And  if  such  a  tone 
of  benevolent  action  could  be  now  restored  to  the 
church,  another  generation  would  not  pass  before  the 
earth  would  be  "full  of  the  knowledge  and  glory  of 
God,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

And  their  kindness  to  the  poor  ivas  boundless. 
Christians  felt  as  much  bound  to  this  as  to  prayer,  or 
to  the  hearing  of  the  gospel.  Contributions  and  act- 
ual exertions  for  their  relief,  were  made  indispensable 
parts  of  Sabbath  exercises.  At  the  close  of  public 
worship,  lists  of  the  needy,  the  widows  and  orphans, 
were  produced  and  considered,  and  additions  were 
made  from  time  to  time  as  new  cases  occurred ;  and 
the  wants  of  these  were  supplied  from  the  funds 
gathered  by  free  contributions.  No  heart-stirring 
appeals  were  needed  to  awake  dormant  sympathies. 
The  spontaneous  flowings  of  the  fountains  of  their 
benevolence  supplied  every  stream.  There  were  no 
hospitals  for  the  poor  and  sick  except  of  their  creat- 
ing, and  few  of  the  heathen  ever  entered  abodes  of 
suffering  on  errands  of  mercy.  The  Christians  sup- 
ported not  only  their  own  needy,  but  bore  the  burden 
which  hardness  of  heart  in  their  heathen  neighbors 
cast  upon  them ;  and  the  zeal  with  which  they 
entered  into  every  labor  of  love  is  well-nigh  incredi- 
ble. Ladies  of  highest  rank  acted  as  nurses  for  the 
sick,  exposing  themselves  to  contagions,  and  devoting 


PRIMITIVE  EXAMPLE.  81 

their  purse,  their  toil,  their  prayers,  and  their  in- 
structions, to  pour  consolation  into  the  cells  of  ex- 
tremest  wretchedness.  It  was  a  day  when  scenes  of 
wretchedness  specially  abounded — when  the  world 
was  often  visited  by  famines  and  pestilences,  and 
the  heathen  had  become  shockingly  corrupt  in  mor- 
als, and  desperate  and  reckless  under  the  fearful 
visitations  of  heaven  ;  and  the  miracles  of  Christian 
benevolence  shone  brighter  through  the  darkness, 
and  contrasted  strangely  with  the  cold  indifference 
of  the  heathen  towards  their  nearest  friends.  For 
instance,  in  the  time  of  Cyprian,  the  plague  came 
upon  Carthage  with  fearful  and  protracted  visitations. 
The  heathen  abandoned  their  sick  and  dying.  The 
highways  were  strewed  with  corpses  which  none 
dared  to  bury.  But  Christians  faced  every  danger, 
and  often  sacrificed  life  in  alleviating  sufferings  and 
burying  the  dead,  whether  of  Christians  or  heathen. 
"While,  among  the  heathen,  parents  deserted  their 
own  children,  and  children  trampled  on  unburied 
corpses  of  parents. 

But  one  of  the  greatest  taxes  on  primitive  benevo- 
lence was  laid  by  persecution,  which  now  and  then 
went  through  the  church  like  a  tempest.  No  sooner 
did  the  report  go  abroad  that  a  fellow-Christian  was 
in  a  dungeon,  than  crowds  of  Christians  came  around 
the  prison- doors  begging  admission,  meekly  bearing 
the  insults  of  surly  guards,  and  using  every  means 
-io  procure  the  prisoner's  release.     Some  would  beset 

Law  of  Benef.  6 


8^  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

the  prison- walls  days  and  nights,  praying  for  the  de- 
liverance, or  the  triumphant  death  of  the  imprisoned 
martyrs.  When  any  were  doomed  to  waste  their 
lives  in  toil  in  distant  and  unwholesome  mines,  con- 
tributions were  sent  for  their  relief,  by  the  hands  of 
those  who  undertook  long  journeys  to  convey  the 
sympathies  and  offerings  of  the  church.  To  show 
the  temper  of  the  times,  a  party  set  out  from  Eg}^t 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  relieve  some  brethren  in 
the  mines  of  Cilicia.  They  came  to  Cesarea,  and 
there  tha  heathen  seized  a  part  of  them,  put  out  their 
eyes,  and  horribly  mutilated  them.  But  in  spite  of 
such  dangers,  such  journeys  were  often  performed. 
No  floods  of  persecution  could  quench  the  desire  to 
convey  consolation  to  those  suffering  for  Christ's  sake. 
And  those  who  lived  to  return  and  tell  what  they 
had  seen  of  martyrs  in  the  mines — how  they  toiled, 
and  bore  their  chains,  and  honored  their  Redeemer, 
were  loaded  with  many  honors. 

To  supply  resources  for  this  great  variety  of  press- 
ing calls  for  charity,  there  was  the  Sabbath  contri- 
bution, commenced  by  order  of  Paul,  in  which  all, 
rich  and  poor,  concurred.  Then,  in  case  of  great 
public  calamities,  the  people  held  fasts,  and  gave  to 
the  church  what  they  saved  by  abstinence  from  food. 
In  pressing  emergencies,  the  plate  which  the  church 
had  acquired  in  more  prosperous  days  was  melted 
down  and  sold.  Others  bound  themselves  to  set 
apart  a  certain  portion  of  their  income ;  others  held 


PRIMITIVE   EXAMPLE.  83 

periodical  fasts,  devoting  the  saving  thereby  to  the 
church.  Some  wealthy  individuals,  when  converted, 
sold  their  whole  estates,  and  betook  themselves  to 
manual  labor  for  their  own  support.  Others  man- 
aged their  estates,  devoting  the  whole  income  to  the 
cause. 

Indeed,  so  much  did  the  first  Christians  excel  in 
acts  of  charity,  that  these  constituted  their  peculiar 
characteristic,  and  the  wonder  of  the  heathen  world. 
If  the  church  had  any  thing  whereof  to  boast,  it  was 
this.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  well-known  act  of 
the  deacon  of  the  church  at  Rome,  in  the  time  of 
the  emperor  Decius.  The  tyrant  demanded  that 
the  treasure  of  the  church  should  be  surrendered. 
The  deacon  required  one  day's  time  to  gather  it. 
In  that  time,  he  assembled  all  the  blind,  lame,  sick, 
and  poor,  that  were  supported  by  the  church,  and 
then  called  in  the  emperor,  and  said,  these  are  the 
treasures  of  the  church !  In  the  time  of  Chrysostom, 
the  church  under  his  care  had  on  its  catalogue  of 
sick  and  poor,  three  thousand  regular  beneficiaries, 
besides  extraordinary  applications  every  day  for  as- 
sistance. 

Indeed,  so  glorious  and  impressive  was  the  robe 
of  Christian  charity  worn  by  the  primitive  church, 
that  Julian  the  apostate,  seeking  to  effect  in  his  day 
a  resurrection  of  the  prostrate  heathen  institutions, 
endeavored  to  put  this  robe  upon  paganism,  expect- 
ing that  it  would,  like  the  bones  of  Elisha,  give  hfe 


84  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

to  the  dead.  Here  is  the  ever-memorable  testimony 
of  that  crafty  and  politic  emperor  :  "  Let  ns  consider 
that  nothing  has  so  much  contributed  to  the  progress 
of  the  superstition  of  Christians,  as  their  charity  to 
strangers.  I  think  we  ought  to  discharge  this  obli- 
gation ourselves.  Establish  hospitals  in  every  place. 
For  it  would  be  a  shame  for  us  to  abandon  our  poor, 
while  the  Jews  have  none,  and  the  impious  Galile- 
ans provide  not  only  for  their  own  poor,  but  also  for 
ours." 

CONCLUSION. 

Place,  now,  distinctly  before  the  mind,  what,  if 
we  have  rightly  read  the  New  Testament,  the  Lord 
requires  of  you,  be  your  property  less  or  more.  It 
is,  that  you  shall  now  commence,  if  you  have  not 
already,  a  habit  of  setting  apart  a  portion  of  your 
income  on  the  Sabbath,  or  at  other  stated  times,  for 
charitable  uses,  regulating  with  a  generous  heart  and 
a  good  conscience  the  amount  appropriated  by  the 
ability  which  God  shall  give  you.  Knowing  this  to 
be  a  plain  requirement  of  Christ,  can  you  hesitate  ? 
If  you  can,  you  are  not  able  to  say,  "  The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us."  Indeed,  what  right  of  choice 
have  you  in  the  case  ?  "Ye  Sire  not  your  own  :  ye 
are  bought  with  a  price,"  and  are  bound  to  "  glorify 
God,"  not  only  with  your  money,  but  with  "  youi 
body  and  your  spirit,  which  are  his."  "  Ye  are  bought 
with  a  price  " — "  not  with  corruptible  things,  as  sil- 


CONCLUSION.  85 

ver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ." 
Where  Christ  asks  your  silver,  he  has  given  his 
blood.  Do  you  realize  that  he  has  borne  the  curse 
for  you,  and  snatched  you  from  the  gates  of  hell  ? 
And  yet,  have  you  no  generous  emotions  when  he 
asks  for  these  gifts,  in.  token  of  your  love  ?  Do  you 
forget  the  mercy  of  "  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who, 
though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  became  poor, 
that  ye  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich?"  And 
now  that  through  his  poverty  you  are  becoming  rich, 
or  tliink  you  are,  now  that  the  riches  of  his  grace 
begins  to  flow  in  upon  your  soul,  and  God  is  endow- 
ing you  with  the  wealth  of  the  divine  nature,  and 
he  comes  to  you  in  the  person  of  his  poor,  and  asks 
for  a  portion  of  his  own  gifts  to  be  returned,  have  you 
a  heart  to  deny  him  ?  After  all  your  hopes  and  pro- 
fessions, is  this  the  real  temper  of  your  mind  ?  Look 
the  thmg  in  the  face  again.  By  becoming  poor,  he 
has  made  you  rich  ;  and  m  his  poverty,  which  pleads 
in  the  mouth  of  his  poor,  he  asks  you  to  return  enough 
of  the  gifts  wliich  he  has  put  into  your  hand,  to  serve 
as  a  substantial  token  of  your  grateful  love.  And 
have  you  no  heart  to  give  it  ?  We  ask  you,  then, 
just  to  realize  what  is  the  state  of  your  heart.  We 
ask,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  you  ?  We 
ask  you  to  reahze  with  whom  you  are  dealing,  and 
to  whom  he  will  say,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to 
one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  me." 

Furthermore,  this  mode  of  consecrating  our  prop- 


86  LAW  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

erty  to  Christ  was  included  in  the  terms  of  our  oath 
of  allegiance,  or  surrender  to  him.  That  surrender 
included  all  that  we  are  and  have.  Any  thing  short 
of  this  would  not  bring  us  into  covenant  with  God. 
And  if  we  have  really  covenanted  with  him,  we 
stand  pledged  by  oath  to  make  such  a  use  of  our 
property.  And  as  far  as  we  are  coming  short  of  this, 
are  we  not  keeping  back  a  part  when  Ave  had  sworn 
to  devote  the  whole  ?  And  how  does  this  differ  from 
the  sin  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  ? 

But  you  say,  perhaps,  that  the  great  body  of  pro- 
fessed Christians,  and  those  of  reputable  standing, 
have  gone  through  life  without  any  such  rule  of  ac 
tion,  and  why  should  more  be  required  of  you  ?  "The 
times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at."  A  veil  rest- 
ed upon  the  minds  of  most  respecting  this  matter ; 
but  the  views  of  the  Christian  world  are  in  the  pro- 
cess of  a  great  change.  As  new  enterprises  have 
been  thrown  upon  our  hands,  new  light  has  come 
into  our  minds.  We  now  begin  to  see  this  thing  as 
it  is,  and  are  now  without  the  excuse  which  our  fa- 
thers had.  We  are  in  a  state  of  transition  to  posi- 
tions of  purer  light  and  more  scriptural  benevolence  ; 
and  soon  the  church  will  look  upon  neglect  of  this 
rule  as  we  now  look  upon  preceding  ages,  that  for  a 
thousand  years  gave  scarcely  a  dollar  for  the  conver- 
sion of  heathen.  We  trust  the  time  is  not  distant, 
when  the  professed  Christian  who  has  no  habit  and 
system  of  ajms-giving,  will  be  regarded  in  the  church 


CONCLUSION.  87 

as  the  miser  now  is  in  society.  This  living  to  one's 
self,  and  withholding  from  Christ,  will  be  as  odious 
as  is  now  the  trade  of  the  swindler. 

But  perhaps  some  will  still  say,  that  they  admit 
the  obligation  to  practise  a  generous  charity,  but 
they  hold  that  the  gospel  leaves  every  one  to  decide 
for  himself  how  mucli  he  ought  to  give ;  and  why 
not  let  each  one  decide  as  to  the  mode  of  giving  ? 
Why  insist  so  much  on  its  being  done  in  this  particu- 
lar way  ?  You  might  say  the  same  about  the  duty  of 
Sabbath-keeping.  You  admit  the  obligation  to  preach 
and  hear  and  pray  and  praise  ;  but  why  insist  on  its 
being  done  on  that  particular  day?  We  could  in 
both  cases  give  many  reasons.  But  this  is  enough, 
that  God  has  commanded  it ;  and  the  command  to 
do  this  work  of  charity  on  the  Sabbath,  or  at  other 
stated  times,  is  as  explicit  as  the  command  to  keep  the 
Sabbath.  Some  individuals  might  devote  as  many 
hours  to  spiritual  exercises,  if  there  were  no  Sabbath ; 
and  some  mdividual  might  give  as  much  in  charity, 
if  there  were  no  law  requiring  this  stated  appropria- 
tion of  portions  of  income.  But  to  make  the  matter 
sure  with  all,  divine  wisdom  has  made  this  appoint- 
ment :  and  who  are  we,  that  we  set  it  aside  ? 


Date  Due 

OC  1  7  '5: 

123 

f 

- . 

1 

f) 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1    1012  01278  6465 


